Argumentative Essay On Mental Illness

What does mental illness look like? Is it the “weird” kid at your school that everyone bullies? Or maybe the latest scary movie about a psycho killer? Mental illness is constantly construed and made to seem dangerous, unnatural, and sickening. Mental illness, as defined by Mayo Clinic, is simply a “disorder that affects your mood, thinking, and behavior”(). These people, who live with mental health issues, including one out of ten teens and one out of five adults, are often treated as if it is their own fault that they are different(). From uncharged jailing to not being able to choose what is best for them to plain everyday interaction, persons with mental illness are ostracized and treated unfairly. As a country, we are failing our citizens

What is a happy, healthy life for a person with schizophrenia or even depression? First, there needs to be an understanding that many people with these illnesses can think, speak, and make choices for themselves. Even people who live with schizophrenia, which often causes hallucinations, have days of lucidity(). Take Lisa Halpern, a graduate of Harvard University, for example, Lisa has hallucinations almost everyday(). She is aware of them and often questions what she sees and monitors her hallucinations as indicators of her mental health(). Ms. Halpern is a prime example of a person with mental illness that can think for herself, but why do we believe they cannot? Most of these affected people know what they want out of their lives and we just need to listen to them. Many put value in friendships. As one person replies when asked what a healthy life is to them, “[It’s not healthy] if you’re stuck in a room with no money, by yourself, no friends because you're different, because you suffer from mental health issues, it’s a pretty lonely, awful life and a lot of people choose a bad ending”(). A way to help foster an environment for friendships would be to start community programs in which people with mental illnesses can meet and support each other. Simply reaching out to these people may change their lives for the

This is where our current society comes into play. As we live now, there is a stigma against mental illnesses everywhere we turn. Whether it be in the media where the gruesome movies that depict “psychotic” killers or in our language for calling people insane when they say something we do not quite agree with, it hurts people with mental illnesses (). Having this stigma surround them everywhere they go traps them in a box and prevents growth. As one victim of stigma accounts, “A lady (at a food bank) asked what my illness was and I said ‘well I have schizophrenia’ and she goes ‘well you don’t look schizophrenic to me.’ It’s like you need a little glowing hat, ‘caution schizo- phrenic’”(). This is a prime example of our “All or nothing” attitude when it comes to mental illnesses (). Some people with mental illnesses cannot even choose their own therapist, rather one is assigned to them(). Treating people who have schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or even depression like children who cannot make their own decisions is absurd. By doing this we show our discrimination, and that we do not see them in stages like Cuba or how we see physical ailments in stages of severity(). It is interactions and close mindedness like this that discourages people with mental illnesses and is detrimental to