Mental illness is a serious issue. It has, in various forms, affected so many individuals and cost so many lives. Yet mental illness is itself not a disease; it's an umbrella that covers several disorders, all of which are laid out, syllable to footnote, symptom by plausible extra symptom, in the DSM 5.
For my Psychology 101 class, we had to engage with two sources dealing with mental illnesses and societal stigma. The first article dealt with the stigma surrounding drug and alcohol addiction--something that 1 in 10 Americans over 19 struggle with. In the article a father whose daughter has a drug and alcohol addiction bemoaned the fact that when his wife had cancer, “they ate very well.” People brought them food, gave cards, offered to help with “anything [they needed].” Yet when his daughter had to go to rehab because of drug and alcohol addiction, no one gave food, and only close friends asked guarded questions about her progress. When she left the rehabilitation center and was seriously injured in a car wreck, the cards and food rolled in like a tsunami again.
Was that because there is a stigma regarding those who struggle with addiction, or as her father put it, “sickness of the brain” in society? Let's contrast this story with that of young comic, Kevin Breel. Breel struggles with the kind of depression he describes as “being sad when everything is going right.” He struggled with suicidal thoughts and a few years ago almost took his life. Breel claims that when someone commits suicide “every thirty seconds we’re say we’re sad and sorry, but we also say 'so what?’”
According to both articles, “society,” this abstract word thrown about and never clearly defined, stigmatizes mental illnesses. Furthermore, both claim mental illness often goes untreated because of this stigma.
Let's take a look at some mental illness statistics. In America, an estimated 26.7% of the population suffers from some sort of mental illness. That's more than one fourth of the entire population. Of these illnesses, the most common is anxiety disorder.
According to the ADAA, people with anxiety are 3-5 times more likely to go to the doctor than those who don't. About half who have anxiety disorders also have depression, causing me to wonder if the stigma is preventing people from going to receive treatment.
People go to the doctor for help. They are admitting something is wrong, and it needs to be fixed. Like any other illness, mental illness is a bad thing. Yet with mental illness, the chances of healing quickly just like a broken bone or a scratched cornea, are much more slim. It affects the inmost individual, the most private part of a person: how the person thinks. Ultimately, when you call mental illness what both advocates called it, a “sickness of the brain” you are basically saying there is something wrong with the most private part of a person that needs to be fixed. With this in mind it's impossible to see mental illness without some hesitation, and no doubt this leads to some stigma in our world, be that a good or bad consequence.
One of the reasons mental illness may be more stigmatized than physical illnesses like cancer or heart diseases is that many mental illnesses are characterized as being rather introspective. For example, people who live with a person with depression are often hurt and frustrated by the selfishness the individual may exhume. Because those with depression are continually sad, their feelings will be focused, as with anyone, on their own hurt even though the pain can only be felt in their mind. It doesn't mean the sadness isn't there, or that it can be stopped. But unlike with physical diseases where the pain--blood, broken bones, etc. can be early seen by others, the sadness from depression often has no obvious cause.
Sometimes disorders can be traced to something the individual is doing that he knows he shouldn't be doing. For an example from our article, the daughter knew she was not supposed to be drinking--hence, the avoidance of her father when alcohol stenched her breath. Postpartum depression is something that comes after a woman chooses to give birth, which some may see as her own choice. Depression after an abortion may also be seen as taboo; with many the women regret the decisions they've made that have led them to the point. To flaunt it or discuss it is like flaunting an individual's flaws.
Perhaps the best way to get rid of the unnecessary negative stigma towards mental illness in our culture is to better educate individuals on the types of mental illnesses. This could help prevent the dangerous self-diagnoses, and also allow people to know how to treat and understand those with a mental illness.
