Mental Health Stigma
Why do we act as though mental health is no big deal? Why do we stereotype people with mental illnesses as being crazy? Why is there such a stigma around people asking for help from a psychologist/psychiatrist/therapist? As a nation and a community, we normalize yearly physical check ups, bi yearly dental check ups, and yearly vision check ups. Shoot, we buy a brand new car with the expectation that we are going to need to do maintenance on it based on mileage. Why then, is there still such a stigma on mental health check ups, screening, or visits? Why do we continue to look at people who willingly seek out mental health sessions like there is something wrong with them? Or Heaven forbid its court ordered. Those people must be crazy … real lunatics, let’s just write them off.
Let me give you some staggering statistics. In 2022, over 40,000 people died by suicide. That’s nearly 1 death every 11 minutes. Further, many adults think about suicide or attempt suicide every day. 13.2 million Americans have seriously thought about suicide. 3.8 million have made a plan to complete suicide. And 1.6 million Americans attempted suicide. These are our grandparents, parents, spouses/partners, siblings, children, friends, teachers, first responders, medical providers … These are our people dying every 11 minutes …
So how do we change things?? How do we change the mental health stigma so our people can get the help they need? So WE can get the help we need and deserve. There is no shame in asking for or accepting help. So how do we make the change, starting in our community?
We need to educate ourselves, speak up against discrimination, show compassion to those getting help for their mental health concerns, be honest about our personal stories and struggles, and to create supportive policies and practices.
How do we educate ourselves? Learn about mental health and what it entails. Who are the professions and what do they do (counselor/therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, social workers, etc). Use respectful language when talking about mental health (think about the first paragraph and the names that were called). Encourage people who are seeking treatment. They are strong, resourceful, worthy, and resilient. We are proud of our friends who seek help when they need it. Share those feelings with them. Your words have power. Speak life into their journey.
Speak out against discrimination. When people use offensive or disrespectful language, call them on it, out of kindness and a stance of education. Respectfully push back on discrimination or bullying, in your personal and professional life.
And lastly, always speak words of empowerment, kindness, encouragement, love. This life is hard, and we all need help at one point or another. If no one has told you today, I’m proud of you. You can do the hard things. I believe in you.
