Fuck Mental Health Stigma
Chances are most of what you think you know about mental health is wrong.
It blows me away to learn about the history of mental health and to realize that today in 2023 we still have so much stigma. While we still have a lot to learn about the human brain and how our minds and emotions and mental health works we have SO MUCH science investigating this area of health and what it tells us so far is that we’re doing it wrong.
We really do NOT do a good job of dealing with or talking about mental health issues. Not only does it take YEARS and sometimes a decade or more for the most current mental health science to circulate to the full professional field but the public generally refuses to accept the new information and act accordingly. We get stuck in these old ideas and refuse to allow the field to move forward. For an example of this look up the chemical imbalance theory and see how it’s been known for a decade plus that this isn’t exactly how it works, yet the public and many practitioners widely accept this as the cause of mental illness. See also: people enraged at the suggestion that we didn’t fully understand the causes of mental illness and that theory was never actually proven but loosely supported by the positive impact of things like SSRIs. (NOTE: SSRIs are still an effective treatment for many and this discovery doesn’t mean you should stop using prescribed medications. It means we know they are correlated and correlation is NOT causation.)
WHY in 2023 are we still doing things like blaming people for their mental health conditions? WHY are we judging people for having them and behaving as if there is something so shameful that we shouldn’t talk about it? Why is it when someone is admitted to the hospital for a bodily illness they post about it on social and everyone around them sends love and well wishes (as they should) but when it’s for a mental illness we all whisper in hushed tones about it and if someone dares to post about it they get shamed or worse yet, told they are “attention seeking”? Why is mental illness not equal to bodily illness? It’s bizarre.
I’ve read things about the history of mental health that talk about how in the past those with mental health issues were thought to be possessed by the devil or demons or other completely insane things along those lines. The suggestion is that THIS is where the stigma comes from. So I think it’s time to let go of the medieval puritanical insanity and unscientific superstitions about mental health and live in the present. We let go of “witch” burning so I think we can probably move on from this too. It has no place in our modern society to judge and punish those with illnesses out of their control whether they are physical or mental.
What can you do to personally stop the stigma??
Rethink it. Before you say something judgmental or shaming about someone with a mental health condition consider your words and the impact they have. Remember it’s an illness…. would you say the same thing about a cancer patient?
Ask yourself if what you are saying/thinking is based in facts or weird conjecture based on movies and medieval lore. What do you actually know about the condition you’re commenting on?
EDUCATE YOURSELF. Then share/repost from reliable expert sources based on science and data not superstition
Talk to your kids about it from a place of empathy. Let them know it’s safe to talk to you about their mental health and teach them by example to be safe and and supportive to their peers.
Discuss your own mental health challenges openly (if you are safely able to). Whenever possible share what you’re going through with others.
Donate to causes and organizations that support mental health. Make those tax deductions useful and find an organization that you can support with donated time or money.
Stop believing that there is something wrong/ less than about mental health sufferers. Embrace the possibility that the terrible history of mental health has informed your opinions and open up to some new perspectives.