Reset Password
Reset Link Sent
| Blogs > myelin36 > Dirty Little Secrets |
Stigmatizing Mental Illness
|
Stigmatizing Mental Illness  I felt compelled to write this blog post after reading about another blogger's struggle with their mental health. And because whether we choose to believe it, we continue to live in a society that stigmatizes mental health. Case in point. No one hears someone say, "I have a doctor’s appointment” and concludes that person must be rich or weak or crazy. It’s obviously the right thing to see a professional when our body is injured or feels “atypical.” But if someone seeks therapy to improve their mental health, people can be far more critical. In spite of efforts to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness, there are misinformed people that feel individuals who seek therapy must be weak. On the contrary. As a therapist, I am very open with prospective about the courage it takes to seek therapy. This stigma lives in the darkness along with overshadowing fear, lack of awareness and basic ignorance. Its complexities need to be broken down and understood so we can rewire our thoughts on mental health and therapy. In an attempt to raise awareness on the truth about seeking therapy and quash the stigma, here are common misconceptions you should not assume about people who go to therapy: 1. People who go to therapy are weak. Going to therapy is actually a very courageous and strong thing to do. One has to be open to facing every corner of their mind and heart and be completely, unabashedly open about fears, truths and experiences in order to really get the most of what a therapist can offer. That requires strength — strength to explore your own emotional and mental limits and boundaries, strength to be guided in directions you wouldn’t go and strength to learn and actively seek a better place. 2. People who go to therapy are "crazy." “Crazy” is never an appropriate term and only increases the stigma that causes some people to never seek the help and peace they so very much deserve and/or need. 3. People who go to therapy are "wasting their money." We all spend our money on and prioritize things that are important to us. The way one might spend money on a personal trainer to help them reach or maintain a level of physical fitness, spending money on a therapist could be seen an investment in a person's health and personal development. 4. People who go to therapy do not have a healthy support network. Going to therapy can’t be confused with the idea that a therapy-goer doesn’t have solid relationships. Therapy is not a replacement for friendship, and a therapist is not a friend. Friendships are two-way streets, which can cause a very biased view of experiences and circumstances; therapy is a one-sided relationship with a professional who has the expertise to objectively guide and help a person through struggles. 5. People must be in a "bad place" to see a therapist. One does not need to be in a “bad” or “dangerous” place to see a therapist. Most likely, there’s usually a catalyst for deciding to go, but it could be a culmination of experiences or feelings. Most of my are trying to gain greater self awareness and view therapy as a way to gain insight to help with self development. 6. You should feel sad or scared for anyone who goes to therapy. This just enables the stigma surrounding seeking help. Don’t look at or talk to people differently because they may have disclosed they are in therapy. There’s no shame in seeing a therapist and there’s nothing wrong with seeking help or guidance from a professional. If you have to feel an emotion, be proud of a person's decision to improve their mental well being. My hope in creating this blog is that by breaking down common misconceptions of people seeking therapy, we’ll be one step closer to being a society that seeks to embrace mental health treatment without the stigma and that people can dialogue openly about their mental health. Thanks for reading. xoxo, myelin |
|||
|
Your misconceptions about mental health are right on the point. These misconceptions might actually be preventing people who might need some help. Click Here To Read A Hot Erotic Story: When A Woman Meets A Stranger Part 1 of 4
| ||
3/26/2017 8:32 am |
People who go to therapy have more courage! The r brave enough to admit they have a problem and seek help! Great post! 
| ||
|
But if someone seeks therapy to improve their mental health, people can be far more critical. It's sad that the instinctive response of too many people to things that they do not understand is to criticize or attack . . . rather than to seek first to understand and to empathize. Your list of common misconceptions and why they are misguided is constructive and helpful. Thank you for making the effort to inform and educate. I have never felt the need for therapy personally . . . but I know several wonderful people who used therapy to (mostly successfully) get past patterns of abuse in their lives that were truly traumatizing. Perhaps not the appropriate forum to ask this question, but I - perhaps through ignorance - am puzzled by the difference between mental illness (from the "Lonely Lotus" quotation you featured) and improving mental health . . . which I understand your comments to mainly focus on. Again, my understanding is limited. But is it correct to think of mental illness - schizophrenia, just for instance; or perhaps clinical depression - as the result of chemical imbalance . . . presumably necessitating use of pharmacological remedies ? Something analogous to treating a chronic health condition with ongoing medication ?? And to think of improving mental health through use of a therapist as analogous to improving overall physical health . . . for instance as a physio-therapist might work with someone following injury to rehabilitate a damaged body-part in order to recover strength and range-of-motion ? Perhaps helpful if you . . . possibly in another/future post . . . were to comment on the differences between treating mental illness and working to improve mental health. I imagine that there are areas of overlap, but that the two sets of circumstances also differ in some ways ? Either way, thanks for an insightful and thoughtful post on a topic that more people should reflect about.
| ||
|
Thank you posting this. My wife has fought mental health issue for many years. It is at times debilitating. I would have left the marriage long ago, but she needs the support I give. I encourage her to see her therapist on a regular basis and she is on meds. The treatment is only marginally successful. Mental health problems are a chronic medical condition much like diabetes. Rarely is there a cure, but there is treatment. People with these maladies should be viewed no differently than those with other chronic disorders.
| ||
3/26/2017 9:12 am |
Finally an Excellent post...Something very worth reading...We thank You...Hugs! 
| ||
1 post 3/26/2017 9:15 am |
As somebody who suffers from mental health issues I can say your blog entry is spot on. I am lucky that I live in the UK and help is free however accessing these services is hard as cost cutting means you have to be diagnosed before you can be referred. In my own case it took a massive overdose and a stay in hospital before I got the help I needed. Happily I'm in a better place now but it is still a daily struggle. This is made worse by other people's attitude. Most don't know how to deal with it when they find out while the vast majority either avoid the subject or go as far as avoiding me all together there are a small group who "Just pull yourself together" is the default .
| ||
|
Hi Myelin, My friend, I can't say anything but THANK YOU for writing this. I have a soft spot for many things. and this is one of them. I applaud you for posting this. Again, Thank you. Is always good to see you. I hope things are going well with you Hugs to you sweet lady -Thalia
| ||
|
I have never been ashamed to say I have sought out therapy several times in my life and that I did the same for my son. I wish people would look at this they way they look at any other kind of medical treatment. Posts like yours will hopefully make a difference. thank you. You cannot conceive the many without the one.
| ||
|
Hi Myelin. Thank you so much for posting this. I feel that the mind is such a beautiful and complex thing -- labyrinthine in its integrity. The stigmas surrounding mental illness remain, and I personally don't like to blame others for adopting them... but nonetheless, it is stigma that only proves to be harmful to society. To read this post is very heartening, because it is a therapist such as yourself who knows very well the facets that surround struggle and reform with mental illness. Not only does it take great strength and compassion to listen and connect with a person's issues, but also to give them the support and encouragement that they need in order to heal. Having seen a number of therapists in my time so far, I think that I perhaps understand how difficult your job can be, especially with those who cannot open themselves up properly. One therapist once told me to picture my mind as a vault, so that I could unlock it and let her see inside. The problem with this is that I was locked out of this vault, too. I knew of what lay inside, but I could not open it up. I didn't tell her this. In the UK through the NHS, such services are free but the waiting lists are long and harrowing. I don't really know what it's like anywhere else in the world, but it needs to be an accessible thing. Without our minds, what are we? Nothing. Apologies for drifting away from the point of this. It is stigma that harms the sufferer. It makes them feel as though their issues do not deserve the attention they require. Mainstream society continues to force down our throats frivolous notions regarding the survival of the fittest, burying our doubts and weaknesses with a multitude of ignorances... well, that's what I feel. If we're weak and in need if support, we aren't important enough unless we have things such as great talent, looks, or celebrity status. I could be wring but I don't know. It's all too confusing... Anyway, I'll stop the rambling now. Again, thank you for this. Much love x
| ||
|
There was a time people like that were kept out of sight or sent away.Which is what started a lot of this.Medications are given as a quick fix which gives us yet another problem. Sadly it's a stigma that is ingrained in to many people.. In a world where we're told to believe that everyone is to busy to cook dinner,make time with their kids,to write a letter.Who's going to be interested in someone that say they're depressed? It'll be generations before even the slightest hint of a mental condition will be acceptable.Sadly! Using more than all the road!
| ||
|
Great post.
| ||
|
I find it interesting that when I spoke of dealing with some mental issues in the past, people reacted to it as if it was current (they are more or less resolved as they can be) and that I sometimes struggle to deal with some depression and people are nice on my blog and then discuss me elsewhere on other blog posts (and once on another site) and make fun of me. Ah well, I wasn't writing about it to reach those people, obviously. And if I help one person feel not so alone in dealing with some mental issues, being made fun of by other people doesn't bother me as much... Thank you for writing about it. Kk The observant make the best lovers, I may not do right, but I do write, I have bliss, joy, and happiness in my life, Kitkat Come check out my blog KItkat1415 check out this post by me Adventures In Body Grooming #39 April Topic Link: What Lies Beneath If April Showers Oh Bloody Hell What Kind Of Weather Turns Me On Bloggers Symposium 40
| ||
|
This was a wonderful post, Myelin. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your strength. I wonder if American culture does a particularly lousy job of accepting the mental health profession. I don't think any other culture has our degree of obsession over free will and personal responsibility. We seem to realize that we don't have complete control over our bodies - i.e. everyone's body is vulnerable to sickness and injury that sometimes needs medication and therapy. But American society seems to believe that humans are always in total control of our minds. We are quick to find fault and assign blame. There is no cause to give compassion and offer help when we can blame the victims for their own problems.  My featured post this week: Pulling Fantasy Sex Out of My Ass.
| ||
|
hard to believe it's been 6 yrs since you graduated from Newman. You looked so good & we fucked like maniacs for the next few days. Hope things are good
| ||
|
Hello Myelin Totally agree with your thoughts... BTW have you considered writing for "professional" journals. BTW glad to have you back here. Hope you will continue to post
|
Become a member to create a blog
