Battling the Stigma of Mental Illness

About a month ago, I did the unthinkable and I tried to play a sport competitively (ball hockey to be precise). Looking past the fact that it was the first time I’d ever held a hockey stick, and that I didn’t know whether I was a rightie or a leftie, I played quite well!

To my dismay, this awesomeness lasted no more than two games. During our second game, I got tripped by a stick and fell to what felt like my death. I tried to be a champ and I kept playing but that only made the problem worse.

Unfortunately, the aftermath of my accident wasn’t pretty; in fact it was actually quite disgusting. When I finally went to the doctor the following night, I found out I’d partially torn two ligaments and I had to be on and off crutches for 3 weeks. (On the plus side, it was my first sports injury!)

Those three weeks involved a lot of limping and I had to leave home 15 minutes earlier for all my classes. My friends were amazing and they were all so helpful (a special shout out to Adam for carrying my bag!). Strangers were a lot nicer too; they went past common courtesy so not only would they smile, but they’d rush to open doors, and one even offered her prayers.

The kindness was overwhelming and it got me thinking about other types of illness, particularly mental illnesses and disorders. I thought about depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and so on. Different to my injury, these types of illnesses can go unnoticed and, more often than not, they’re pushed aside or ignored all together. Mental disabilities aren’t visible the way my swollen ankle was, and for some reason society tends to turn a blind eye.

We all have an idea of what someone with a mental illness is like, but most of our views and interpretations have been distorted through strongly held social beliefs. The media tends to aggravate society’s distorted view of mental illness. Society, in some cases, perceives people to be responsible for the disease. We push the blame and consequences of the illness onto these people and utter phrases such as “It’s their fault they’re depressed,” or “ They choose to drink”.

I think it’s about time for some change. The stigma surrounding mental illnesses needs to be broken, and it shouldn’t be such a taboo to discuss it in certain cultural or religious circles.

First off, there is no particular way to develop a mental illness. For some people, it occurs due to genetic factors in their family. Other causes may relate to environment stressors such as experiences of severe child abuse, war, torture, poverty, loss, isolation, neglect or abandonment.

Secondly, it is unfair to perceive people with mental illnesses as weak. People with mental disorders often display remarkable courage and strength—maintaining jobs and raising families despite anxiety, depression or other cerebral challenges. It takes courage for one to admit he/she is suffering from a problem that carries such stigma.

There’s so much we don’t know about mental illness because we let societal norms of what is “acceptable” prevent us from bringing it up. Mental illness frightens us and, in turn, we marginalize the people who most need our acceptance.

This is not the way forward, this is not a path for a more open, accepting, and sympathetic world. To deconstruct the stigma around mental illnesses and disorders, we must break through the silence and fear. And to do so, we should encourage unashamed conversation from the individuals and their affected friends and family. As Glenn Close said, “Our society ought to understand that many people with mental illness, given the right treatment, can be full participants in our society.”