Mental Health Stigmas

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Imagine an illness that affects one fourth of our country. This disease causes a variety of symptoms that can last for years without ceasing and can affect people of all ages. Now imagine how our society would react to this plague. Obviously there would be mass panic and an abundance of time and funds dedicated to researching a cure, right?
Unfortunately, this scenario is the sad truth when it comes to mental illnesses. One in four Americans experience a mental illness over the course of their life, yet less than half of the adults affected ever seek treatment. This phenomenon is linked to the fact that our society has severe stigmas associated with mental illness that prevent people from seeking treatment. We view people who suffer from mental illness as weak or crazy, and David Whalen from the Canadian Mental Health Association says that these stigmas dissuade patients from seeking treatment because they fear becoming “social pariahs”.
The stigmas surrounding mental health in our culture commonly stem from the belief that mental illnesses aren’t actual illnesses. If one is operating under this assumption it is easy to come to the conclusion that mental illnesses are the result of lazy or attention seeking individuals. If this were true it would justify the mentality that people need to simply …show more content…
Joel Young, Medical Director of the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine, explains that mental illness result from an imbalance of brain chemistry, which has a negative impact on how the brain functions. This imbalance is responsible for all the different symptoms of a mental illness ranging from depression to anxiety to hallucinations. Dr. Young makes it clear that mental illness isn’t just in one’s head. The chemical imbalance can also lead to many detrimental physical health effects that range from random aches and pains to heart attacks and premature death. As you can see, mental illness are actually illnesses, not just the result of an overdramatic
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