Breaking the Stigma: Around Mental Health
Mental health is very important aspect of our overall health but still people do not find it easy to talk about it and seek help. A good number of people suffer from some kind of emotional imbalance causing stress and lot many other problems and fall into the category of mentally ill but they themselves or people around them simply consider it as a change of mood and mindset. They do not want to admit it or talk about it.
The people suffering from mental illness are more vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal tendencies and substance abuse. But stigma to accept mental illness prevents them from getting proper treatment and makes them to hide their problems.
There is stigma attached around mental health that talking about it openly will bring disgrace and discrimination. A healthy society needs to recognise the stigma and break it for overall well-being.
- Recognizing the mental health state and the Stigma
This is very necessary to understand the issues related with mental health, psychologically and stigma attached around it. All because of stigma of not admitting about any such illness prevents seeking professional help by the needy. Mental health conditions are outcome of environmental and biological factors and there should not be any feelings of shame or loss of self esteem should be attached.
- Encouraging Free Talks
The very first act to break this stigma is to talk openly about it through various media and having open discussions. Open discussions going around will make people understand that this is no different than physical health conditions and both kind of health conditions require equal caring and professional help.
- Developing Support system and Empathy
Providing open ears with empathy towards these cases without any pre-judgement eases out the reluctance of seeking help. A good designed support system of professional help with empathetic support to reach out the person in need can help society miraculously to address these issues and breaking stigma of devaluation publicly.
- Motivating
Motivation is a wonderful act to address the issue of stigma around mental health. The person in need can be motivated by sharing stories of similar cases. Knowledge of success stories of some can become inspiration of many passing through similar challenges and can motivate to gather courage to speak up and seek professional help.
- Education
By reaching out to educate people through various means such as workshops, discussions, books etc, mental stigma can be broken out and confidence can be generated to speak about it. One should be able to find out and decide to approach expert guidance.
- Professional help
Easily available expert guidance of psychologist and psychiatrist can break the stigma
effectively and can encourage people to seek help.
Mental and physical health both are outcome of each other and are inseparable. But stigma around mental illness proves to be a barrier in seeking help. This requires collective effort of individual and society to break the barrier and let people feel free to talk and seek help for it.