The Stigma Of Mental Health

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The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that one in every four people suffer from a mental health issue at some point in their lives, yet only two thirds of those people seek help. Why? The answer is simple; these victims get stigmatized for admitting they have a problem. But what is stigma? Well, stigma is defined as: “a mark of disgrace associated with certain circumstances.” stigma is most notable for people going through mental health issues, like anxiety, depression and ADHD, among other disorders. The stigma associated with mental health is affecting societies and communities in negative ways and should be actively combated by governments, NGO’s, and people. However, this issue is controversial, as many skeptics claim that mental disorders do not exist. However, they have been proven wrong. Stigma is a barrier for treatment and is harmful to society, as well as being a sign of a toxic community. The biggest obstacle in the goal to eradicate mental health stigma is that many people aren’t aware of what a mental disorders are, and how commonly they occur. Many people associate people with mental illness (also called psychological disorders) as “crazy” or “insane”. However, these disorders can be as simple as attention and hyperactivity problems (ADHD), stress disorders, and depression. There are of course more serious issues like bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, but even those can be handled with proper methods of medication and therapeutic assistance. These disorders can also vary in intensity, doctors will often use words like extreme, or mild to identify the effect of the disorder on the person. Also, more often than not, people’s experiences with these disorders vary. Mental Illness has been identified a long... ... middle of paper ... ...s and poor physical health, in order for that to change, we need to tackle mental health issues, and eliminating stigma is the first step towards this goal. Even if you don’t suffer from stigma, it can have a large indirect impact on your life. Mental health is one of the largest ignored issues of today. It is affecting large and small communities around the world. Mental health skeptics really are pushing the world back, and until this issue is no longer, we can’t be expected to move forward as a people. Everyday people are mourning someone who has chosen to take their own life as a result of mental illness, yet what are we doing to combat it? Every year one million people take their own lives, and suicide is one of the leading causes of death for young people. Until we can make help accessible and desirable to whoever needs it, these figures will not decrease.

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