The Road to Mental Wellness with Desert Rose

Mental illnesses affect 19% of the adult population, 46% of teenagers and 13% of children each year. People struggling with their mental health may be in your family, live next door, teach your children, work in the next cubicle or sit in the same church pew. However, only half of those affected receive treatment, often because of the stigma attached to mental health. Untreated, mental illness can contribute to higher medical expenses, poorer performance at school and work, fewer employment opportunities and increased risk of suicide.

Mental health conditions are common, and more treatments are available than ever to help people cope, recover, and thrive. However, stigma can prevent or delay people from seeking care or cause them to discontinue treatment.

Stigma refers to negative attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes people may hold towards those who experience mental health conditions.

Although there is more understanding and acceptance today about mental health conditions, many individuals and communities still hold negative attitudes or beliefs about those living with mental health conditions.

Mental health stigma can take many forms. Structural stigma, involving laws, regulations, and policies that can limit the rights of those with mental health conditions.3

Public stigma, which include negative attitudes and beliefs from individuals or from larger groups towards people with mental health conditions, or their families or health care providers that care for them.

Self-stigma, which comes from within the person with a mental health condition. People living with a mental health condition may believe they are flawed or blame themselves for having the condition.

When stigma leads to discrimination, people living with mental health conditions may be treated negatively. For example, people may experience being excluded by others in their social groups due to their mental health conditions.. *Reducing stigma may look like:

Policies and practices that support people with a mental health condition, reducing barriers they face in settings like workplaces and health care.

Supportive policies and practices can help people find and keep a job, secure safe housing, access quality health care services, obtain quality education, among other benefits. Journalists, communicators, and others in the media working to educate the public responsibly about mental health.

This includes taking care to portray those with mental health conditions accurately with nuance and context, and avoiding perpetuating negative, harmful stereotypes. Treating those living with a mental health condition with understanding, empathy, and acceptance, so that no one feels the need to hide their condition. Having personal, direct contact with people living with mental health conditions have been shown to combat negative stereotypes and reduce stigma.

A mental illness is a physical illness of the brain that causes disturbances in thinking, behavior, energy or emotion that make it difficult to cope with the ordinary demands of life. Research is starting to uncover the complicated causes of these diseases which can include genetics, brain chemistry, brain structure, experiencing trauma and/or having another medical condition, like heart disease.

Although the general perception of mental illness has improved over the past decades, studies show that stigma against mental illness is still powerful, largely due to media stereotypes and lack of education, and that people tend to attach negative stigmas to mental health conditions at a far higher rate than to other diseases and disabilities, such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

Stigma affects not only the number seeking treatment, but also the number of resources available for proper treatment. Stigma and misinformation can feel like overwhelming obstacles for someone who is struggling with a mental health condition Here a few powerful things you can do to help:

Showing individuals respect and acceptance removes a significant barrier to successfully coping with their illness. Having people see you as an individual and not as your illness can make the biggest difference for someone who is struggling with their mental health.

Advocating within our circles of influence helps ensure these individuals have the same rights and opportunities as other members of your church, school and community. Learning more about mental health allows us to provide helpful support to those affected in our families and communities.

As always, if you or someone you love feels suicidal or that they are in a crisis there is the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 for confidential, free, 24/7/365 help. You can also chat at 988lifeline.org. Another resource is the Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741. The Crisis Hotline: 844-755-5325 Until next week, I’m Desert Rose signing off and wishing you all good mental health.