Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well. As promised, we're updating more frequently with small discussions in between Missing Stars updates. This month, we're covering aspects of public perception of mental health, why it can be so hard for people to understand, and what we can do to raise awareness.
So, what is the general perception of mental health as a whole? While it is much better in recent years, there is still a negative stigma attached to mental health. There is a lot of skewed perception with disorders such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar disorder etc, and the majority of people have a hard time understanding that something can affect your brain in many different ways.
For example, people with ADHD are labeled as lazy, stupid, and unmotivated when in reality, it's a mental disorder that results in disorganization, poor time management skills, excessive restlessness, impatience and in a lot of cases, poor emotional control and low self-esteem from all of the aforementioned symptoms when left untreated for many, many years. People with depression are told that they need to just stop being sad and to enjoy life more, when depression isn't just about sadness. Depression extends to feeling little to no pleasure in life, feeling hopeless, having low energy levels, affecting your appetite, and makes you lose interest in things you once found enjoyable, all because of a chemical imbalance in your brain. Some people will even be as extreme to say that medication is something that is a scam by the drug companies to poison your mind and that mental disorders don't exist. All of this isn't helped when certain drugs such as Adderall used to treat ADHD are often abused by normal people to get a high from it. While perception is getting better, long-standing stigmas to mental health are still harmful to the general public.
But why don't people understand or see what people suffering from mental illness go through? Unless you have a mental disorder, it can be very difficult to understand what's going on in a person's head. Mental illness does not show itself in an obvious way, and it's easy to misunderstand symptoms. One example of this is how people perceive anxiety disorders. Many think that anxiety is simply being too high-strung and up-tight and simply need to relax and stop worrying so much. While it's true that a small amount of anxiety is normal, it becomes a problem when it bleeds into a person's life and takes control of them. If someone has social anxiety, they may be afraid to go out with friends in fear of screwing up and being humiliated. Some people will have certain scenarios that will trigger it and send them into a panic attack. At the end of the day, someone with anxiety disorder isn't "up-tight" or "high-strung", they have a mental disorder that needs to be treated as such. Another example is someone who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Many people believe this to be "Oh my, this picture is crooked" or "Oh, the house isn't absolutely spotless, freak out time." It is true that OCD can manifest in cleanliness, but it specifically refers to having obsessions that are then followed by compulsions to relieve the anxiety that comes with them. Obsessions are thoughts that are intrusive, unwanted, and can cause a lot of stress to the sufferer, so in order to combat them they will perform rituals or compulsions. Unless someone is going through ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD etc, it's hard to understand what someone is going through in their head.
So, how can we change people's perception of mental illness? One solution would be education, learning about the different types of disorders, what their symptoms are, give examples on how it can appear in a person, and how you can help a friend/loved one if they are suffering from it. Another way to change one's perception of mental illness is to ensure that there is easier, more affordable access to resources. What stops a lot of people from getting help is simply the cost of it, with therapy being expensive and medication is expensive and not always covered under some insurance plans. Finally, it's important to be wary of the media's portrayal of mental health, as it can be sketchy at best to downright incorrect and even damaging at worst (Ahem, 13 Reasons Why...). Self-education is important to understanding what a particular disorder is all about, and how it can impact someone's life. If we keep raising awareness and educating ourselves and others, we can end the stigma of mental illness and help millions of people suffering from it.
If you have any feedback or would like to suggest future blog posts, please visit our Discord and give us suggestions or your thoughts on the matter!
Discord: https://discord.gg/drpW7Mz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/somnovastudios
Facebook: Somnova Studios
So, what is the general perception of mental health as a whole? While it is much better in recent years, there is still a negative stigma attached to mental health. There is a lot of skewed perception with disorders such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar disorder etc, and the majority of people have a hard time understanding that something can affect your brain in many different ways.
For example, people with ADHD are labeled as lazy, stupid, and unmotivated when in reality, it's a mental disorder that results in disorganization, poor time management skills, excessive restlessness, impatience and in a lot of cases, poor emotional control and low self-esteem from all of the aforementioned symptoms when left untreated for many, many years. People with depression are told that they need to just stop being sad and to enjoy life more, when depression isn't just about sadness. Depression extends to feeling little to no pleasure in life, feeling hopeless, having low energy levels, affecting your appetite, and makes you lose interest in things you once found enjoyable, all because of a chemical imbalance in your brain. Some people will even be as extreme to say that medication is something that is a scam by the drug companies to poison your mind and that mental disorders don't exist. All of this isn't helped when certain drugs such as Adderall used to treat ADHD are often abused by normal people to get a high from it. While perception is getting better, long-standing stigmas to mental health are still harmful to the general public.
But why don't people understand or see what people suffering from mental illness go through? Unless you have a mental disorder, it can be very difficult to understand what's going on in a person's head. Mental illness does not show itself in an obvious way, and it's easy to misunderstand symptoms. One example of this is how people perceive anxiety disorders. Many think that anxiety is simply being too high-strung and up-tight and simply need to relax and stop worrying so much. While it's true that a small amount of anxiety is normal, it becomes a problem when it bleeds into a person's life and takes control of them. If someone has social anxiety, they may be afraid to go out with friends in fear of screwing up and being humiliated. Some people will have certain scenarios that will trigger it and send them into a panic attack. At the end of the day, someone with anxiety disorder isn't "up-tight" or "high-strung", they have a mental disorder that needs to be treated as such. Another example is someone who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Many people believe this to be "Oh my, this picture is crooked" or "Oh, the house isn't absolutely spotless, freak out time." It is true that OCD can manifest in cleanliness, but it specifically refers to having obsessions that are then followed by compulsions to relieve the anxiety that comes with them. Obsessions are thoughts that are intrusive, unwanted, and can cause a lot of stress to the sufferer, so in order to combat them they will perform rituals or compulsions. Unless someone is going through ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD etc, it's hard to understand what someone is going through in their head.
So, how can we change people's perception of mental illness? One solution would be education, learning about the different types of disorders, what their symptoms are, give examples on how it can appear in a person, and how you can help a friend/loved one if they are suffering from it. Another way to change one's perception of mental illness is to ensure that there is easier, more affordable access to resources. What stops a lot of people from getting help is simply the cost of it, with therapy being expensive and medication is expensive and not always covered under some insurance plans. Finally, it's important to be wary of the media's portrayal of mental health, as it can be sketchy at best to downright incorrect and even damaging at worst (Ahem, 13 Reasons Why...). Self-education is important to understanding what a particular disorder is all about, and how it can impact someone's life. If we keep raising awareness and educating ourselves and others, we can end the stigma of mental illness and help millions of people suffering from it.
If you have any feedback or would like to suggest future blog posts, please visit our Discord and give us suggestions or your thoughts on the matter!
Discord: https://discord.gg/drpW7Mz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/somnovastudios
Facebook: Somnova Studios