Myths surrounding Mental Illnesses
WHO has labelled India to be ‘the most depressing country’, one in seven people have suffered from some sort of mental problem between 1990–2017. The reason for this is the lack of sensitivity in our minds for mental illnesses. The problem with mental illness is that we do not treat it as any other physical ailment. For a physical ailment we often immediately get in touch with a doctor and listen to only the professional, but when it comes to mental illness the word “mental” takes all the stress and frequently we forget to acknowledge that there is an illness which needs to be looked at.
The stigma around it gives water to myths that surround different mental illnesses, and looking at the history of stigma of mental illnesses it is sure that the foundation of these myths is quite powerful. The myths attached to mental illnesses exclude, sometimes abuse or harass the patient which further takes toll on his/her mental health. The age-long stigmas, stereotypes and misconceptions not only come in the way of mental illness but also prolong the treatment and healing of the patient. Apart from stigma of treatment, mental illnesses too have myths attached to it.
Certain myths even suggest that treatment of the illness is not possible but it is not true, after proper medications and talking therapy a way out can be formed.
Also, a common myth is that for a particular illness everyone will have the same symptoms, but is also not quite true. Although, to some extent symptoms are related but the frequency and extent of it is different for each individual. There are other myths too that are relatively unique and sometimes bizarre if you think, like a common myth of OCD is that it is a women’s disease, but actually it is common to people of all genders, all age as well as ethnic groups.
Such delusions often make it more difficult for the people to heal and cope with their illness and it prolongs their treatment. Awareness and knowledge about the facts and not the myths are only the way out of shattering the age old foundation. We as a society can together help one another to get rid of this stigma and the myths attached to mental illnesses. It’s high time we burst the myths about mental illnesses and give our mental health due diligence and make it our priority.
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