The Negative Speech: The Problem Of Mental Disorders

Imagine if society blamed people for having leukemia, saying their life choices brought on the horrid disease. It’s their fault for acquiring this illness. Horrifying, right? You 'd think it 's so absurd blaming someone for something they can 't control. Think of all the burden, all the shame, and all the grief they 'd put straight on the shoulders of someone fighting for their life. Why would we even think of doing something so atrocious? But we have. When people hear the term mental illness, the word that registers into their brain is the word mental, meaning all in your head. When people think of mental illnesses, they think of someone who hears voices or someone like Hannibal Lecter from Silence of The Lambs. But that 's not what it is at all. Ladies and gentlemen, honorable judges, I have a question for you. Why is it that we tend to downplay something so real and so misunderstood, and why do we segregate it from other illnesses?

You probably recognize those few mental disorders, most likely because they 're a few of the many common ones. What about Apotemnophilia & Body Integrity Disorder, Dysthymia, and even Stockholm Syndrome? They 're quite a mouth full, and some of the uncommon ones. As you can see, I 've only named six of more than 200 different classified mental disorders. Did you know 1 in 5 Canadians will suffer a mental health disorder in their lifetime? There are about 30 students in here. That means 6 people in this classroom will suffer and be affected by a mental illness. That 's a pretty large number. To expand on the picture, let 's move to a wider variety. There 's around 2000 students that attend this school, maybe more or maybe less. That means around 400 students will acquire a mental illness in their lifetime. Now I think you get the