Mental illnesses are more common than expected. It is estimated that 1 in 5 people will suffer from some mental illness at least once in their lifetime.
The concept of mental illness remains patchy in lay parlance. To understand it simply, mental illnesses are disturbances in cognition, emotions and behaviour that interfere with an individual’s interpersonal relationships and day to day functioning. These disturbances may or may not be known to the affected individual.
Much to our dismay, people with mental illnesses are stigmatized and discriminated against in some way or the other. Whether it is finding a job or finding a life partner, they are judged and marginalised which leaves them further disadvantaged.
The word Stigma comes from the Greek word ‘Stigmata’ which means a mark of shame or discredit. Stigma, when used in reference to mental illness, is a multifaceted concept that involves feelings, attitudes and behaviours.
The process of stigma consists of three steps –
A. Recognition of cues that a person has mental illness – It involves recognising that there is something different about an individual. It could be anything such as the way one talks, the way one looks, the way one expresses himself etc.
B. Activation of stereotypes – It involves having preconceived notions about an individual due to the above mentioned cues leading to a prejudiced thinking.
C. Discrimination against that person – It comes from fear, avoidance, disgust or hatred towards the mentally ill person due to the prejudiced thinking.
After individuals go through social process of stigma, they start believing that they are less than others and start to develop an inner process of stigma. This leads to self doubt, shame, guilt and other negative emotions in the affected individual.
The best ways to cope with stigma are –
a. Talk about your problems – Sharing your problems with family and friends can make the process easy and less bothersome.
b. Get psychiatric help – Don’t hide in shame. Your problem may appear big to you but for an expert, there can be simple solutions to your problems.
c. Don’t isolate yourself – Thinking that the mental illness is a sign of weakness or mental illness happened because you did something wrong is a medically baseless thought. The affected individual has done nothing to deserve what he or she is going through. One has to see the mental illness in the same neutrality as one sees cancer or any other chronic and debilitating physical illness.
d. You are not your illness – Just remember, illness is like the rain and treatment is like the umbrella. You can’t avoid the rain but you can take the help of umbrella to avoid getting wet. And most importantly, you are not the rain! You are a human being stuck in rain!
e. Show compassion to people with mental illness – Help others to recover from their illness. It gives strength, calmness and answers to unknown questions.
f. Spread the right awareness – Don’t let rumours or unscientific information hinder your thought process, nor let the same happen to others. Seek professional advice and spread scientific information about mental illnesses and their treatments.
Wishing you the best of mental health today and always,
Dr Apala