Breaking the stigma: Mental illnesses

Following on from my last post of breaking the stigma, I have decided to write this post explaining the awful stigma which has been created regarding mental illnesses. Before I start, you may be wondering, what is stigma? The easiest way to explain it is something that sets two people apart, bringing feelings of shame, blame, hopelessness, distress and reluctance to seek and/or accept necessary help. 

1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives, in the UK and of course, all around the world, thousands of people are suffering with mental illness everyday. Despite many people with mental illnesses being able to recover fully or finding a way to live with their illness, there is a strong stigma attached to poor mental health which can dangerously affect the life of someone with a mental illness. Studies show that the social stigma and discrimination that mentally ill people experience makes it even more difficult for them to be able to recover.

Of course, it wouldn't be right if the media weren't enforcing the stigma too, often portraying mentally unwell people as having violent and criminal behaviour however this is far from the case, it is actually been proven that those who are mentally unwell are usually the victim of crimes instead of the criminal.

More importantly, how do we challenge this stigma?

• Learn and share facts about mental health and illness - make people aware.
• Get to know people who have experienced ill mental health.
• Offer the same support to someone who is mentally unwell as you would to someone who is physically ill(Get ready for a post about this soon!)
• Do not put labels on or judge someone with a mental illness, they deserve the same respect as you would give anyone else.
• Don't discriminate, whether it's something as simple as being in school and choosing who is going to be in your group project to hiring someone in a job.
• Talk openly of your mental illness - the more secrecy, the more people will believe that it is shameful and needs to be concealed.

So, as someone who has suffered with mental health problems for a long time now, I can safely say that the stigma attached to people like myself makes life difficult, it makes me feel like I shouldn't talk about my illnesses, like I should hide them.. well I used to feel like that anyway. Don't be scared to talk about your illness, don't be scared to get that help that you rightfully deserve, Each and every one of you deserve to get better - don't let society get in the way of that.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this post, it means a lot to me that people care about my writing and opinions. If you wish to question any of my points or just give me some general feedback or even just say hi, please feel free to email me on laurynmathews2@gmail.com and I will be happy to answer anything, thank you.