Imagine this — a man is admitted to the Emergency Room for a broken leg and after being X-Rayed and treated, he leaves with a cast. All of his friends sign his cast, bring him flowers, open doors for him and he gains a good story to tell in the future. Contrast that with a man who has just been diagnosed with depression, one of the top three disabilities in America right next to Dyslexia and Autism. Where are his flowers, and cards and the "get well soons?" What story do you imagine him telling in the future? Where is his support network?
Statistics reveal one in four people are diagnosed worldwide with a mental illness every year with a total being 500 million — that is more than the population of the United States. This shows that mental illness is a serious matter in all cultures worldwide.
With the broken leg, treatment is obvious; with mental illness, treatment is not always obvious to the person suffering or those closest to them. On top of this, society often negatively stigmatizes people suffering from mental illness making treatment even more difficult to acquire.
In our society, mental illness is treated with platitude, and a slap on the back saying "things will get better!" Sometimes, the treatment is less sympathetic and viewed more negatively as a sign of weakness or character flaw that is a responsibility of the person suffering to address. Without proper treatment getting better is impossible, just as a broken limb having a chance of healing without proper treatment.
What we need to remember is that mental illness, and physical illnesses are both illnesses. We can't have the idea that one is worse than the other or mental illness is a "figment of imagination." They both deserve to be treated with the same empathy and understanding.
As science unravels the complex nature of mental illness, perhaps society will gain knowledge and be inspired to put aside prejudices and misunderstandings of the mentally ill. One day, society may view mental illness with the sympathy and understanding they have for physical aliments.
