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Mental Health Stigma

We have all heard someone be called crazy, dramatic or lazy at some point in our lives. The stigma behind mental illness has never been kept a secret in our society. But have you ever taken the time to deconstruct it and look at mental health for what it really is?

I have been called lazy more times than I can count. I have depression. This makes it hard for me to clean, do homework, maintain relationships, or even sometimes maintain hygiene practices. I have also been called dramatic and crazy for having panic attacks. Because people cannot see it, they refuse to understand it.

Chang et al. (2016) outlines that when we break down stigma we can look at it in 6 different parts. I want to focus on labeling and stereotyping. To do that I want you to think about the following mental health conditions: OCD and Bipolar. Lets look at what you thought of.

OCD- clean freak

Bipolar- angry/sad one minute, happy the next

What if I told you that is not the reality for those mental illnesses. OCD is compulsion based. For example, this can manifest as thinking that something bad will happen if you don't jiggle a door handle. Bipolar is commonly known to be a cycle of mania and depression. This can look different depending on the person and the diagnosis. For many it can be seen as more of having high energy for a while followed by a crash leading to depression. But it doesn't change multiple times in one day.

We do not have enough affordable and easily accessible mental health resources in part due to the stigma surrounding it. But this can be changed. Townley et al. (2017) displays that when we have accessible mental health care people are more likely to be active in their communities! Isn't that beautiful! Yet, many people struggle to find these resources especially when they are low income. Therapy is very expensive and without insurance can feel impossible.

It is imperative that we look at how minority groups are affected by mental health. We have to be intersectional in all topics but especially this one! It is shown in Thammachack (2022) that race shapes peoples approach to seeking help, and the specific roadblocks Black students encounter when trying to access mental health services. This study finds that we need to better our mental health system in order to support these black students. This can mean making sure everyone gets cultural competence training, creating mental health education that includes everyone, and more.

I know that this post was long and had information in it that maybe you didn't want to read. I mean come on a blog post on tumblr that has references! But thank you for taking the time to read.

We will not be called crazy anymore. We will not be called weak, dramatic, lazy. Together we can work to untie the stigma that we face. Please approach mental illness with empathy, approach people with compassion. You never know what someone is going through. Be kind.

and contact your local lawmakers! advocate for change! In the end if we get the change we are seeking it will pay off.

References

Chang, C.-C., Lin, C.-Y., Gronholm, P. C., & Wu, T.-H. (2016). Cross-validation of two commonly used self-stigma measures, Taiwan versions of the internalized stigma mental illness scale and self-stigma scale–short, for people with mental illness. Assessment, 25(6), 777–792. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191116658547

Thammachack, A. (2022). Black student mental health: An analysis of accessibility of mental health resources at Queen’s university. (Order No. 30168744, Queen's University (Canada)). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 81. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/black-student-mental-health-analysis/docview/2748438255/se-2  

Townley, G., Brusilovskiy, E., Snethen, G., & Salzer, M. S. (2017). Using geospatial research methods to examine resource accessibility and availability as it relates to community participation of individuals with serious mental illnesses. American Journal of Community Psychology, 61(1–2), 47–61. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12216 

#mental health #mental heath awareness #mental heath support #mental illness #mental wellness #stigma