Why is mental illness still considered "taboo"?
It really frustrates me that sometimes the people who need to talk to others the most are unable to because they live in fear of being judged or ridiculed. Why do we still have stigma surrounding mental health difficulties?
@IndigoRoses Short version: People are superstitious, panicky animals at times.
Long version: Many people don't believe in mental illness, either because their religions tell them it's not real or because they don't think it's a sickness like cancer or the flu or an infection. They think it's a choice. And of course if you think people are choosing to act sick, you won't have much respect for them.
Others are afraid of what they don't understand, which is a pretty human trait (heck, even other animals are like that.) It takes time and effort and education to get over that and many people don't want to make the effort or never got the education.
Also, it's scary, especially given the way popular culture misrepresents mental illness. People are afraid that the mentally ill are dangerous, or even that somehow it might be "catching." They avoid it, and thinking about it or talking about it, out of fear.
In my experience those are the main reasons, although there are lots of others. I hope that's a start.
M
@MarcHT I agree w/majority of your description, but I do believe that a lot of it is a choice. When I was growing up, people didn't have all these mental disorders and ADHD/Autism wasn't so common as it is now. (My little brother has both). My mother has had anxiety/panic attacks since 1975 or so, but that is b/c of a traumatic event, so she's been on medication since she was like, 22. I am on medication myself for partial seizures, but for my worry, anxiety, stress .. I deal w/it myself. That is life. I understand there is sever depression, but I think all this new social media is making it worse for the teens/young adults. Teens/young adults do not need to be on drugs for anxiety or stress or sadness. How else do you think the fakers make so much money selling the drugs on the streets? It's wrong. I've done my fair share of drugs and none are worth your life. Drugs eat away at your brain. Especially the anti anxiety - aka - benzodiazepines, anti depressants, and they also prescribe anti seizure meds to people w/depression. Go on Facebook once and search some private pages. Kids sell scripts and the pills on the pages, next to weed and heroin. This generation is very sad. I wish I could help every sad and lonely and depressed teenager out there.
@TransAm85 That is a point of view, and no doubt there are both malingerers and people who abuse drugs around. But your post is sort of a classic example of a Type I Doubter. :)
People did have these issues "in the old days." Mental illness has been with us since we became human. (And arguably before. Many higher animals display both organic and functional mental health issues,) They just didn't talk about it. (If you don't believe me, read some Freud, or some Kraft-Ebbing, or even Mesmer or Braid.) It was just more taboo than it is now. We know better now, but it's still taboo, and this is one of the reasons why.
@TransAm85
They did in the old days. Innocent people were burned at the stake because they had seizures. Back then they thought it was a sign of the devil. Or what about electro shock therapy or the other torturous "therapies" they put people through?! In Africa they STILL in 2016 chain people with mental disorders, seizures etc to trees and leave them there to die of starvation! Because they're superstitious!
I do agree that not everyone should be on drugs but there should be more experiments with natural things from the earth. I believe that the earth or whatever "power" you believe in, provides everything we could ever need, we just haven't found it yet. And even if we did the pharmaceutical companies wouldn't allow it because you can't patent nature hence they would go out of business.
@TransAm85 these problems have been around since the beginning. It's just way back when you were seen as well either the village idiot (retardation) or demonic/demon possesion (personality/schizophrenia disorders which also includes autism spectrum disorder) or a witch( other personality disorders more like bipolar and AD/HD) or just a drunk ( a variation of the above more towards depressive or anxiety types.) No I'm not saying drugs are the way to go but they can help. As well as the same parts of the brain that have problems with seizures also plays affect with bipolar, depression, and stuff in between. Especially when the normal antidepressants dont work. Antidepressants can help fibromyalgia. It has to do with our literal internal wiring. That being said drugs with children is a hard thing to work around because there is so much in the balance. It depends I the care takers too. Geniuses are usually autistic or something along those lines.
@MarcHT Also, people who don't have any mental illness think that mental illnesses are "contagious" (Atleast where I live this shite happens)
@IndigoRoses I think it is hard for a lot of people to grasp mental illness, as they can not see or touch it themselves. Of course the people who have to suffer from it believe it, but unless they've been there it's very hard for them to get it. And when people don't understand things, they will make things up about it, or believe things that aren't necessarily right about the mental illness. It's really a shame that there is such a stigma around mental illness, and how people still don't think they exist. That's one of the biggest reasons people are afraid of getting help. They are afraid that they are going to get judged or looked down upon for something they really have no control over. It's like all the stereotypes with people who self harm. Not all self harmers are suicidal, but that doesn't stop people from saying so. And some people say that people self harm for attention, and that's usually not the case, as lots of people who self harm go to great lengths to cover it up. Some people will even say that a person is stupid and that self harm doesn't help them, when in reality unless you are in that person's body and feel what they feel, you don't have the right to judge what is real or not.
@IndigoRoses Hello.......I have a few mental illnesses. Well, actually it may only be one biggy that seems like a few. Let me explain that a bit.......I suffer from incredible symptoms of Depression. I take a large amount of anti-depressants that do help keep me in a level mood. That said, I am often alone, and I do get lonely. The main reason for the lonliness is that I do not tolerate people that talk about others, etc. = gossip. Also, I do not care to here about others simple little problems that are really bothering them. Why ? Because if I tell them how to get past the issue in some good constructive ways, they do not do them and just continue as before. That really bothers me for seemingly wasting my time = Depression. Why ? Because I do want others to have a good life and the other person just cannot open their minds to see pathways to improvement = Sadness and Depression. On the flip side, if something I said helps someone even a little, I am happy for the other person = helps to alleviate my Depression. So helping others is good for my head. Most people I know do know I suffer from Depression, and seem to overlook it as I have many skillsets that they like to tap into to help them. This also helps me feel better. I have never seen any sort of stigma about mental illnesses regarding other people, and I have seen or know or worked with many people with a mental illness. In short.....I have never seen ayone being stigmatized because of a mental illness.
@DisabledandDepressed I'm really glad you've never had to deal with being judged based solely on your mental illness! A lot of people are, unfortunately.
@IndigoRoses Thank you for the kind words. Can you please give me some real life examples of these 'Stigma's'
@DisabledandDepressed Yes, I can! I'll use depression as an example. Some common misconceptions (or stigma) about people with depression is that they're faking it, they are only looking for attention, it can be snapped out of at any time, depression is just sadness, it's only temporary, it's a sign of weakness, etc.
@IndigoRoses I understand how frustrating it can be when people don
@IndigoRoses I think it's because people are afraid. Anything they don't understand, most people don't want to try understanding. They only see the bad parts and don't see that we need help because of all the bad stuff they'll find initially.
@IndigoRoses Like others in this thread, I believe the stigma exists because of ignorance and fear. The media paints a bad picture about mental illness, like people must be crazy to have mental illnesses and medication/therapy is the only way they can deal with it. Some people don't care to learn more and stay within the limits what they've been taught/made to believe. Someone may prefer to believe a lie than the truth.
Other people are fearful. Fearful of what they don't know and fearful of finding out the truth. The unknown can bring along many fears, which are considered uncharted territory for many. Some parents may not get professional help for their children with mental illnesses because they're scared of having a child labeled as "crazy." These parents may be scared of the territories that come with it, along with the judgement and teasing from other parents and the child's peers.
I grew up in an abusive home. The abuse carried from my childhood well into my adult years. I have PTSD. I have been abused and I have been the abuser. I have done so much I am ashamed of. And mental illness is taboo and I don't know why I have been to 100's of counselors, doctors, "specialist" and all they ever want to do is throw me on meds when I tell them "hey they are not working/making things worse." They tell me to stick with them or just throw a new prescription at me. I've tried to get better for 15+ years but the help was never their the help wasn't available. Finally after my wife left me I lost my job my house and about to lose my mobile home (aka my car) I finally found a program through the courts that helps with domestic violence, but it just points out what you did wrong and what you should of done instead, again going back to the thinking that for all of us it's just a choice we make. I'm putting this out there so maybe someone will read it and be like damn that's real and they will help me spread the word. We are treating a lot of mental illness the same way we used to treat rape, "well ma'am you were in a bar with a sexy out fit on so you were asking for it". "Well sir/ma'am you put a uniform on/ married him/her / dated, lived with, did a,b,c so you were asking for depression, PTSD, BPD" yep I asked for it I did I must have otherwise I would of never gotten sick and lost my family. It will remain taboo till the truth gets out. HELP SPREAD TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!
Because mental health is not taught at schools and our culture teaches us that we are solely responsible for our wellbeing and only have ourselves to blame for difficulties. Thus, having a mental illness is seen as a sign of weakness instead of as the end of a spectrum most people fall under.
@Jc676 so sadly true
@Jc676 No I just think that a lot of mental illnesses are excuses. Everyone can be sad, depressed, lonely, angry .. those that take it to an extreme are the ones who need help. A lot of people today use this "mental illness" as an excuse to get Rx meds and OD or sell them or get time off work or workman's comp .. I wish I could get time off for being so sad about having to pay so many bills! But no .. I have to pay to pay for those people who get workman's comp or social security!
@TransAm85 You're free to have your point of view but I and many other people can tell you that's it's not a choice and everyone's brains, genetics, psychology, life experiences and many other factors are different. There are people who lie but the exception does not make the rule. Like I said in my post, we really need to teach about mental health in schools because it's a complex issue that requieres the through understanding of all the variables involved while discussing empirical evidence not just anecdotal in order to be understood.
@TransAm85
So everyone who has cancer or MS or fibromyalgia could be faking since you can't see it? Forget the high tech scans and let's all let you take a look at us to decide if we "look sick" or "seen sick" to you. I know I'm being an ass here but so are you. You can't possibly think that you know better than everyone from ordinary people to doctors to researchers. If you do, congratulations you have a mental illness.
@TransAm85 Your comment sounds rather bitter, and as though people are getting an unfair advantage through having a mental illness. I understand how you may think that, and I'm sure there are people who abuse drugs and medications. Still, I don't agree that this applies to all people, or even a majority of people. I think you might not have a clear idea about what mental illness is exactly, even though you do seem to have some experience with it in your surroundings. Depression, f.ex., has little to nothing to do with "being sad about bills" or stressed about life. Depression on a chemical basis means that you haven't enough access to neurotransmitters in your brain (and you can actually measure this and see it on brain scans)... This problem can have any number of causes, and it basically leads to you losing the ability to feel positive emotion or even any emotion at all, having little to no energy, having trouble with sleep, physical symptoms like pains and aches for example, suicidal thoughts... The list really is endless. And what's more: this illness, just like many other mental illnesses, is not only debilitating but can even be lethal. If you look at how many people who die by suicide are suffering from these "invisible illnesses", you see a very real and tragic consequence of a lack of correct, or even a lack of any treatment. You might be able to explain away many consequences of mental illness to people being "overly sensitive", or "lazy", or "attention-seeking", but if you ask yourself the question of why people would put themselves through so much suffering, or even die, "willingly", those arguments quickly become faulty. Mental illness is real on a chemical, physiological, mental and emotional level, and if you look at the research and individual stories of suffering, it becomes very much visible.
I feel like the reason why people think it's taboo is because they aren't educated on it. The human race has the tendency to shutdown the unknown and stick to the known. So when they see a person experiencing a panic attack their first instinct it "whats their problem? Its not that serious!" But for the person who is suffering it feels like the ground is falling from underneath their feet and its scary and traumatizing.
@IndigoRoses it's not talked about enough Thankyou for your post 