Mental illness is often mentioned, but it is rarely confronted. When an arm is paralyzed, we feel sorry for the victim and we help him get well. But when it is the nerve in the brain that is paralyzed, we feel indifferent and we avoid them as much as possible like they are hideous, full of disgust and plagues.
There is more truth to this on the issue of depression. Most people believe that depression is a character defect or a moral problem despite scientific evidence saying it is a legitimate disease that needs to be treated. But people who are suffering from depression refuse to confront the problem,
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and this refusal reaches an extreme when the issue becomes suicide. Having a family member who has attempted or completed a suicide is viewed as a disgrace or as a form of immorality. The one who died is seen as a coward, while the ones left behind are perceived as uncaring. This predominant attitude misses the point that there is a clinical component to the problem, and experiencing depression and entertaining thoughts of suicide may not necessarily be the patient’s or his or her family’s fault.
This negative and generally ill-informed view of depression extends to the practice of psychiatry – people think that the only time to see a psychiatrist is when one is insane. Psychiatrists are always being related to mental illness when they are there not just to treat mental illness but to ensure mental health. One does not need to be mentally ill to see them. Mental health is an important component of the general health of the people so therefore it has to be protected the way the heart, the brain, the bones, and other parts of the body are protected.
Let me tell you many can come out of this Stigma as they learn that a Psychiatrists can and will help them come to a better state of mind as their mental illness can be either managed and or brought under control through medication... some through trial and error...I know I have a mental illness... and through much trial and error, I have come to a better state of mind...and am happy that though at first, I thought medication was going to make me a zombie and that it wasn't the answer... that through counseling and medication and knowing that it helped me with general health too...I've been able to enjoy life again ... enjoy the hobbies of my art writing poems/lyrics/songs and playing my guitar/bass and crocheting and helping people again... instead of thinking.. woe is me.... and that no one understands my situation... and having that feeling of giving up on life...but now I realize that that was just my mental illness speaking and it really wasn't me...the real me couldn't come through tell I got help and now I'm a better person because of it.(Have had my mental illness since a little child didn't get help till in my teen's but was defiant till my late 20's now am 47 and doing fine except one med has caused memory problems and loss and am having an adjustment in my meds to hopefully correct this please keep me in your thoughts as I go through this please???)
People look at us as weird and have a stigma about us but don't realize we are smart just like them...it's just we have a twitch in our heads that have to be fixed before we are able to show the world that we too can be great citizens in the community just like everyone else!
We can figure out great problems and fix them....we are intelligent and lots of us smarter than the average man...take Albert Einstein...He was put into an insane asylum but was so smart he figured out many mathematical problems and knew that if we went faster than the speed of light we couldn't see ourselves or tell time...hum... very interesting...huh???
We will never fail till we stop trying to stop people from thinking we are crazy and keep having that stigma till one day they accept us with our mental illness and realize it can be helped through being kind and helpful be that listening ear to maybe save that person from suicide and/or get mental health help before it's too late..we can be a voice for the mentally ill and be that one to make a difference in their life...
WILL YOU HELP STOP STIGMA AND BIAS AGAINST MENTAL ILLNESS???
OR WILL YOU LET IT SHAME US ALL???
Written by: Cindy Marlene Gustke @cmegetrich copyright©CindyMarleneGustke2018