The Stigma Surrounding Mental Health

This is going to be quite a difficult one for me to talk about because I feel that I have to be quite PC about a lot of things said here so if I do offended anyone I am really sorry. But what can I say? There's a HUGE and I mean HUGE stigma towards something who is suffering with some form of mental health issues. 

When I talk about mental health issues, I'm talking about things such as, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, gender dysmorphia, anti social behaviour, psychotic illnesses etc. 

This stigma is something that I find so bizarre. You wouldn't tell someone who is a cancer victim to get over their cancer, or tell someone with an amputated leg to just deal with it and move on. Yet that is something that is said to me all the time as someone who has suffered mental health issues all of my life. These are just some of the things said to me about my mental health

"You're just not trying to be happy"

"You can stop yourself from worrying"

"Don't you think you're making a big deal out of nothing?"

"There's nothing really wrong with you."

"You can't seriously think that?"

"Are you going to go cut yourself now because I've upset you?"

"You're mental."

"Crazy bitch"

The list could go on, and on, believe me. I think the problem is because people can't physically see your mental health issue, they think that it's non-existent. And while I understand it's hard to empathise with someone when you never have been through it yourself, some of the things people have said to me are simply unacceptable. 

As soon as you mention that you're on anti-depressants, or are seeing a counsellor or have a mental disorder some people immediately think that you're mental or something like that. One in four people will experience a mental health issue in a given year, so more likely that not, everyone knows someone who has or is suffering with mental health. It's extremely common, yet there is still this huge stigma attached to it. As though you're about to do something silly at any given moment. 

Mental health isn't something to pity a person about, I think a lot of people suffering with it, myself included, would find that quite patronising. It's not about pitying or feeling sorry for a person with mental health issues, it's all about becoming clued up and actually trying to understand how they're feeling. It's no good being ignorant about it because you may end up offending someone and then causing more problems for them.

I'm quite open about my mental health diagnoses and I will tell anyone if I trust them enough with that information if they ask it. A lot of my year at UWTSD know I suffer with depression and anxiety. However, not all people are as comfortable about it and may even be ashamed of it, and the stigma they face due to the label that's been put on them. I honestly feel sorry for those people. It must be awful constantly feeling judged and as though you have to hide.

I really think we need to get out of our heads that mental health is something that can be fixed easily and only the weak suffer from it. It's simply not the case at all, men, women, children, straight, gay, lesbian, transgender, black, white, can suffer from mental health issues. It's not discriminatory at all and can hit anyone. I feel as a society we need to get a better understanding of these issues, first through teaching our children about it, and making them realise that it's not something to be ashamed of. It's 2016 for goodness sakes! Nobody should be made to feel inferior or not "normal" because they have something a little different about them.

I read an article that helped me realise how common mental health issues are and I think it's a really interesting read so if anyone is interested in any statistics surrounding mental health I would recommend reading this document.

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publication-download/fundamental-facts-about-mental-health-2015

Stay awesome.