This is going to be quite a personal, opinion-piece from me about something that I feel quite strongly about, both from working in the field of mental health, and merely existing in a world where the general media, and social media in particular can have such a huge influence on how we perceive other people. The stigma that surrounds mental health is a sad reality, however, in recent years I personally believe it has begun to improve to some extent, with more and more friends and acquaintances of mine feeling like they are able to share their stories relating to mental health with the people in their lives, either in person or via social media.
And I think this is amazing progress, I really really do. It may be the case that I am lucky, and in general surrounded by supportive, caring people, and not everyone can see this improvement, However, I really do think it's starting to happen. Most days when I open up my laptop, I see someone sharing their story of living with depression, or giving advice on how to get help for an eating disorder, or running a marathon to raise money for the charities Beat or Mind.
All of these things are great, and I'm glad they're helping to slowly reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illness. However, I think we all need to stop and think for a second, before giving ourselves a pat on the back for being so accepting of individuals with mental health problems.
Because are we, really?
Towards some, yes. It's relatively easy to feel sympathy, and some degree of understanding when we hear about a teenage girl suffering from depression, or a young man with anorexia nervosa, or an abused child suffering from PTSD. These things are terrible, and can be very difficult to hear about, but I'm sure that the majority of people (at least the majority that I know), would approach someone with one of these backgrounds with as little judgement and as much compassion as they possibly can. Partly, because people on the whole are decent, but also in part (this is where my unpopular opinion comes in, sorry) because it has become almost a 'trend' to be accepting of certain mental health problems, in some instances to the point of glamorizing them (most notably, eating disorders and depression).
However, while it may be easy for society as a whole to direct their acceptance, love, sympathy and good wishes to (this is a purely fictitious example, by the way) a petite, young girl with waist-long blond hair, who blogs openly about her social anxiety, cyclothymia, and EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified), people may not be as accepting towards individuals with less 'attractive*' mental health problems. I'm not in any way trying to downplay the struggles of someone with more conventionally 'attractive*' mental health problems, as I know they can have a devastating effect on an individuals life, just to highlight the differences in the way stigma still surrounds those with different mental health problems.
Imagine a man in his early sixties. Sometimes his psychosis is so bad that he breaks down crying, sobbing, with no apparent trigger, asking you to help him find his girlfriend, or 'they' are going to kill her. Maybe he starts to shout at you, because he thinks you might be one of 'them'. You're embarrassed, and you don't know how to respond when he keeps trying to engage you in conversation.
Think about a woman in her mid-forties; she suffers from generalized anxiety, has a mild learning disability, and is incontinent on a daily basis. She doesn't know what to do about this.
A morbidly obese young guy. He suffers from bulimia nervosa and depression. He can't get the smell of vomit off his clothes or his breath, and most days is too depressed to take a shower. What do you think when he sits down next to you on a crowded train?
The people who suffer from these mental health problems are no less deserving of respect or understanding than those with illnesses that have come to be seen as more acceptable and more 'romantic' in today's society. However, because some people have mental health problems that may cause them to behave in different, more difficult to respond to, ways than the portrayal of mental illness we see in movies, the stigma that surrounds them is still considerably more than the level of stigma surrounding (for example) eating disorders, mild depression, or anxiety.
Obviously, reducing the stigma around all types of mental illness can only be a good thing, in order to help everyone access the treatment and support they need. However, I believe it would be good for anyone who considers themselves to be accepting and understanding of mental illness (myself included) to think about whether they would be equally as understanding towards the people whose mental illness may present as more difficult to comprehend and empathize with at first glance, as they are with those mental health illnesses that society has deemed as 'more acceptable'.
In a nutshell; although the stigma around mental illness is (I believe), for the most part, reducing, we still have a long way to go, with certain types of mental health problem still generating greater levels of stigma than others. Developing greater understanding and empathy for less commercially explored conditions, will hopefully in time, help reduce (and maybe one day eliminate) the stigma that still unfortunately surrounds those suffering from mental illness.
My apologies for the long post, and, to anyone who made it this far, thanks for reading!
x
* Apologies for the use of the word attractive; I do not mean to imply that suffering from a particular mental illness is attractive, merely that some mental health issues are looked on more favorably by general society than others, and I couldn't think of a better word to describe what I meant. Please get in touch if you have a more appropriate word or phrase for me to use :).
