There is still a huge stigma and myths linked to mental health issues. Much of which is based on outmoded thinking and assumptions. The more information we have, the less likely we are to let misconceptions influence our decisions. Today we will discuss 5 Mental Myths That Are Seriously Dangerous.
People with mental health issues were once despised by society. Some individuals thought that mental illness was caused by malevolent spirits or divine vengeance. It is a sort of oppression and prejudice, similar to racism or sexism. And there is still a lot of sanism and misunderstanding about mental illness in our society.
Take a look at these 11 common mental health misunderstandings/ myths.
1 Myth. Mental health issues are not common.
The preceding statement was untrue or a myth even before the COVID-19 epidemic. Today, the assertion is, perhaps, the furthest from the truth it has ever been. This is the very first myth out of 5 Mental Myths That Are Seriously Dangerous.
“One out of every four persons in the globe will be impacted by mental or neurological illnesses at some point in their lives,”. This is according to the World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source in 2001.
450 million people are currently living in such situations. Mental diseases are “among the primary causes of ill health and disability worldwide,” according to the World Health Organization.
Depression is one of the most common mental health diseases, impacting over 264 million individuals worldwide in 2017. According to a more recent study focused on the United States. The number of adults suffering from depression has tripled during the epidemic.
Another frequent mental condition is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Which affects an estimated 6.8 million individuals in the United States, or more than 3 out of every 100 people.
2 Myth. People suffering from mental illnesses are unable to work.
The idea that persons with mental health disorders can’t hold down a job or be effective members of the workforce is an old but persistent fallacy and a big myth.
Someone who suffers from a particularly serious mental illness may indeed be unable to work regularly. The majority of persons with mental illnesses, on the other hand, can be as productive as those who do not have mental illnesses. Let’s move ahead to the third myth of 5 Mental Myths That Are Seriously Dangerous.
Also Read: 5 things to build good emotional health
In 2014, a study released in the United States looked into the relationship between employment status and the severity of mental illness. “Employment rates declined with increasing mental illness severity,” the investigators discovered, as expected.
However, 54.5 percent of those with severe disorders worked, compared to 75.9% of those without a mental illness, 68.8% of those with mild mental illness, and 62.7 percent of those with moderate mental illness.
When the researchers looked at the influence of age, they discovered that the employment gap between persons with mental illnesses and those who don’t grow worse as they got older. The difference in employment rates between those with and without a significant mental illness was only 1% in those aged 18–25, whereas it was 21% in those aged 50–64.
3 Myth. Therapists are only required by those who have no friends.
Structured talking treatments and conversing with friends are vastly different. Both can assist persons with mental illness in different ways, but only a qualified therapist can handle issues constructively and in ways that even the best of friends cannot.
Also, not everyone is capable of completely opening up in front of their loved ones. Therapy is private, objective, and focused on the individual, which is impossible to do in more casual conversations with unskilled friends.
Furthermore, some people do not have many close pals. There are a variety of reasons for this, and it is not a reason to dismiss someone.
4 Myth. Mental illness is a lifelong condition.
A mental health diagnosis does not always imply “life imprisonment.” Every person’s experience with mental illness is unique. Some people may go through episodes before returning to their version of “normal.” Others may find solutions that restore balance to their lives, such as medication or talking therapy. This is the fourth myth that we need to understand out of 5 Mental Myths That Are Seriously Dangerous.
Some people may not feel completely cured of a mental illness, and others may endure symptoms that worsen over time. The take-home lesson, though, is that many people will recover to some extent.
It’s also vital to keep in mind that different people define “recovery” differently. Some people think of recovery as a return to how they felt before the symptoms started(avoid myth). Others may define healing as alleviation from symptoms and a return to a fulfilling life, no matter how altered that may be.
“Recovering from mental illness requires not only getting better but also having a complete and satisfying life,” says Mental Health America, a community-based group. Many people admit that their road to recovery has not been easy or smooth. Ups and downs, discoveries, and setbacks are more often.”
5 Myth. Everyone with a mental condition is an aggressive person.
Of course, this is a myth. Thankfully, as more people become aware of mental health issues, this misperception is dissipating. Even those suffering from the most acute illnesses, such as schizophrenia, are typically nonviolent.
True, some persons with mental problems can become violent and unpredictable, but they are the exception rather than the rule. “When properly treated, individuals with mental illness do not offer any greater risk of violence above the general population,” the review’s authors conclude. The overall influence of mental illness as a contributing factor in societal violence appears to be exaggerated.”
While there is little evidence that people with mental illness (typically those with diagnoses of depression or anxiety disorders) have a higher risk of perpetrating violence than the general population, higher rates of violence have been identified among people with specific types of severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.”
In conclusion, mental health issues are frequent, but help is available. To dispel the stereotypes and stigma associated with mental illnesses, we must all work together. Although society’s knowledge of mental health concerns has improved dramatically since a decade ago, we still have a long way to go.