Why Stigma Around Mental Illness is So Damaging

It's astonishing how certain misconceptions persist, even after they've been unequivocally debunked.

This persistence is a stark reminder of the urgency of challenging these false beliefs.

For example, if you put a frog in cold water and gradually heat it, it will jump out when it gets too hot rather than stay there while it boils to death.

But more significantly, the belief of many that being mentally ill is a choice and a weakness still pervades even though it is not remotely true.

This is easy to debunk, but it continues to do disproportionate damage.

Why Is It Wrong?

Is it your fault when you contract a virus like chicken pox or break your leg in a car accident with a drunk driver?

Of course not.

Are you weak because you caught Covid-19 or burnt your hand getting a dish out of the oven?

Obviously not.

So why would mental illness be any different?

There are things that you can do to improve and protect your physical and mental health, and indeed, looking after your body generally also helps your mind.

You can be careful when crossing the road and avoid exposure to others you know who have a virus.

But no matter how cautious you are, you will almost certainly get physically sick or injured occasionally.

Mental health is no different.

While it is generally good for some, others struggle through no fault of their own.

It could be a condition like depression, possibly with genetic or chemical components, or it could be a result of trauma.

But none of these are things that anyone chooses, any more than we choose to be tall or have dark hair.

Attaching a stigma to something that is outside the control of the affected person is both ridiculous and offensive.

This applies to all mockery of this type, such as looking down on redheads.

It is ignorant prejudice.

But in the case of mental health, it can be a double whammy.

The Stigma Can Increase the Problem

Being mentally ill is difficult enough.

But when you are mocked, ridiculed, or blamed for your struggles, it can get even worse.

If you are subject to stigma about something else, such as being short or red-haired, the mockery does not make you shorter or your hair any more red.

But being subject to a stigma for having issues with your mental health can very much make your mental health worse.

When you tease someone about these issues, you become part of the problem, and it may worsen.

It is an easy target, of course.

Every school playground has people being teased for being weird, dumb, or many other worse descriptors that I will not repeat.

Seeing a psychiatrist or therapist carries a huge stigma, but seeing a doctor is acceptable and expected.

How can we expect people to seek the help they need when we mock those who do or even admit that they have a problem?

When you have problems with your mental health, you can expect to be told to pull yourself together or to stop complaining and get on with it.

I do not recall anyone saying things like that to people with broken legs.

But even if you do tease someone about a physical injury, doing so will not worsen it.

The opposite is true with mental illness, where mockery and denial are likely to have a further negative impact.

The Snowball Effect

But I am afraid that it gets even worse than that.

When you break your leg, it impacts your leg and everything that you need your leg for.

Mental illness affects the brain, and you need your brain for everything.

It is like a problem with the operating system in your computer.

It does not matter if your word processing software or printer is in perfect working order; you can do nothing without that core function being sorted.

In the same way, when your mind is struggling, all of you struggle.

Everything is difficult and seems pointless, and even simple tasks are exhausting.

It starts in your head but quickly extends into every aspect of your life because you can do nothing without your brain.

That, to be blunt, is why plenty of people survive losing a limb, but losing your head is always fatal.

In some ways, we are our minds.

Mental illness hits at the very core of our being.

The stigma must end, and it must end now.

It stops people from getting the help that they need, it makes their struggles worse, and it can and does impact entire lives.

This is not something to be dismissed as woke nonsense or PC gone mad.

Mental illness is real; it affects vast numbers of people, and it is not a choice or a failure.

The only failure is the way our society continues to react to it.

?

?

?

?