Dispelling Myths About Mental Health

Unfortunately, there are stigmas and biases that exist concerning mental health conditions. This is because people either choose to remain ignorant about the seriousness of these conditions or because mental health issues are not fully understood. It’s amazing that even though these issues occur very commonly, the facts regarding them tend to become twisted and then one ends up with fabricated information.

The following paragraphs explain some mental health myths and how they've been misconstrued. 

Mental health conditions are difficult to treat

Even though the causes of most mental health conditions are not fully understood, it doesn’t mean that treatment protocols are ineffective. In fact, many conditions have well researched treatment modalities which have been clinically proven to not only be effective, but also offer a very good long-term prognosis for the patient.

The best treatment combination still remains psychotherapy with pharmacological intervention for most conditions. If being physically present for counseling sessions is difficult, then online therapy support is also a viable alternative.

Willpower alone is more than enough to help combat mental health conditions

Self-discipline and willpower are very important parts of the personality which help to overcome mental health conditions but these alone aren’t enough to help deal with the issue at hand. Mental health illnesses aren’t character flaws that one can just overcome by trying to think them away. They are illnesses which occur because of hormonal level changes that physically occur in the brain.

Outside help, as mentioned above, is necessary to help deal with these issues in the acute phase of the illness. As time goes on and the acute issues are corrected, then one can use willpower to help maintain the favourable outcome.

People with mental health issues are unpredictable and violent individuals

This is absolute rubbish. In fact, people who suffer from mental health conditions are more likely to be victims of violent behaviour such as assault or abuse. Anyone can become prone to mental health issues but there does seem to be a genetic factor involved that makes some people more susceptible to these conditions than others. 

People with certain mental health conditions can become violent but these are individuals where their illness has resulted in them becoming out of touch with reality. In other words, they can’t be held accountable for their actions as they aren’t in control of their state of mind during such a scenario.

People diagnosed with mental health conditions can’t recover from their illnesses

Most mental health conditions can be managed successfully to the point of full recovery and patients are then able to lead a fully functional and normal life. Numerous studies have been done on patients doing well after receiving the correct and appropriate treatment for their related illnesses.

The exceptions, which unfortunately do exist, seem to be illnesses such as chronic depression and autism. The reason for this isn't well understood but research is still being done to try and unravel this mystery.

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Patients with mental conditions are insane individuals

Insanity is defined as having such a severe mental illness that the patient can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

In most mental conditions, the patients are well aware of their surroundings and reality but they are dealing with mood or anxiety related issues. Therefore these conditions don’t even apply to the definition of insanity and yet all mental health patients seem to be labeled as insane.

Changes In Attitude Towards Those With Mental Health Conditions 

Where did it all start?

In earlier times it was thought that people who exhibited behaviour which wasn't part of the social norm were possessed by spirits or demons. Unfortunately, these people would be isolated or even killed because of something they had no control of or understanding over. This would then make sense why movie industries present those with mental disorders as seeming to be aggressive and dangerous, like a "possessed" person would be, in order to add shock value to their productions. 

It wasn't until the 19th century when psychiatrists started looking at mental health conditions as being caused by genetic and environmental factors to which the affected individual was exposed to. Certain health conditions were also found to cause mental health symptoms which resolved when the offending disease was treated.

It's still not well understood how certain mental health issues come about but, in terms of neurological changes, it's hypothesized that hormonal imbalances in the brain are a major cause of mood disorders. Understanding a relatively simple reason like this can make one realize that mental health disorders are illnesses.

What can be done to change these attitudes?

Although this process can take a long period of time, at least it can get the ball rolling and people will eventually be informed well enough to show objective behaviour towards those with mental health conditions.

Knowledge is power but it can also be a life sentence if you don't get your information from the correct sources. As mentioned, the movie industry tries to get a shock value, but other media sources such as newspapers, digital media, social networks and television will also display shocking and sensational stories in order to sell their products.

One can also get hold of the local ward councilor and enquire about laws and practices which can be supported in order to raise awareness for mental health conditions. Stalls can be setup and information can be distributed amongst members of the community. This will help to reduce discrimination and increase inclusion of affected individuals.

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Spend time with people who experienced or are experiencing mental health issues. Here, one can share and learn from the affected individual's experiences as they could from yours. Enquire from local organizations where you can volunteer and come into contact with such individuals. Most of the time you'll find that you'll relate with a lot of people and that there may not even be any differences in family setups, relationships and upbringing.