Mental illness. These are two words that can be interpreted in many ways by many different people. When most people hear the two words “mental illness,” they do not truly know what they are hearing, and don’t understand its complexity. The National Alliance for Mental Illness defines those words as ” a condition that impacts a person’s thinking, feeling or mood and may affect his or her ability to relate to others and function on a daily basis. Each person will have different experiences to conditions, even people with the same diagnosis.” Mental illness. When many people hear these words, a stigma comes to mind of human beings who are “stupid,” “retarded,” “hopeless,” and “incapable.” According to Mayo Clinic, a stigma is “when someone views you in a negative way because you have a distinguishing characteristic or personal trait that’s thought to be, or actually is, a disadvantage (a negative stereotype)”. The stigma of mental illness is extremely prevalent in our world today, and advocacy has never reached a higher point than in the year 2015.

Society as a whole undermines the serious and harsh realities of hardships ones with mental health issues face each and everyday. Mental health awareness has recently come more into focus, as celebrities such as Demi Lovato, Lena Dunham, and Pete Wentz are using their voices to speak out and make an impact in our world. Demi, Lena, and Pete, along with many other celebrities in the Hollywood spotlight, are using their powerful voices to inspire and advocates for those who are too ashamed and too scared to stand up for themselves. By having a role model who is not afraid to stand up and talk about their beliefs and disorders in front of the entire world, the younger generations become more confident and accepting of themselves and the struggles they are dealing with.

Recently being open about mental illness has become more acceptable, but the view of this topic in history has been back and forth for many years. Mental illnesses were discovered in 400 B.C. by Hippocrates, a well-known Greek physician. In the Middle Ages, medieval Europeans allowed the mentally ill their freedom, as long as they did not provide harm to the ones around them. However, ones who were dangerous were often labeled as witches and assumed to be inhabited by demons. Their treatment was very poor. In the 1600s, Europeans increasingly begin to isolate mentally ill people, and their treatments would increasingly get harsher as time went on. Over 300 years later in 1963, the United States passed the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act to provide the first federal money for developing a network of community-based mental health services (PBS). As time continues to progress in the year 2015 and moving forward, more and more people are becoming accepting of those who are struggling, and are helping to provide support to those in getting the help that they need. The first full week each year, the National Alliance for Mental Illness hosts a mental health awareness week. The week is dedicated to bringing awareness, fighting the stigma, providing support, educating the public and advocate for equal care. Each year, the movement grows stronger. This year, the theme was “#IAmStigmaFree”, building around the initiative of a judgement free mental illness connotation. This helps focus on connecting with people to see each other as individuals and not a diagnosis.

One of the reasons why there is such a large stigma surrounding the topic of mental illness is because people are not properly educated on what mental illnesses truly are. Many simply do not know or realize that these illnesses are serious disorders, and are not fake or “done for attention”. So many people are affected in our world today, and it is important to be aware in order to be able to support someone around you who may be silently suffering. Most people also may not even realize that they are suffering. Here are some harsh realities of mental disorders:

• 20-25% of adults are affected by mental illness each year
• 1 in 20 lives with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
• More than 90% of children who die by suicide have a mental health condition
• Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 experience a severe mental disorder
• Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year
• 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% of mental health conditions develop by age 24 (National Alliance for Mental Illness).

Although the exact cause of most mental illnesses is not known to date, it is becoming clear through research studies that many of these conditions can caused by a combination of factors including biological, psychological, and environmental. Some biological factors that may contribute to mental illness include: genetics, infections, brain defects, injury, prenatal damage, and substance abuse. Some psychological factors that may contribute to mental illness include: severe psychological trauma suffered as a child, an important loss in their life, neglect, and poor ability to relate to others. Some environmental factors that may contribute to mental illness are: death, divorce, a dysfunctional family life, feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, anxiety anger, or loneliness, changing jobs or schools, social or cultural expectations, and substance abuse (Web MD). Overall, there are many factors that can cause a wide variety of disorders, and not all of them have been discovered to date. Many third variables are involved, and mental illness itself is extremely complex and hard to unravel. As time continues to progress, there is hope that mental illnesses can come to a point of sanity and freedom for those suffering.

The stigma associated with this topic overall is the biggest barrier that prevents people from getting treatment and seeking help. According to Healthline, there may be an answer. Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College in London examined data and discovered that the stigma of mental illness remains one of the top reasons people choose to stay in the dark and not seek help. “We now have clear evidence that stigma surrounding mental illness has a toxic effect by preventing people seeking help,” senior author Prof. Graham Thornicroft said in a statement. “The profound reluctance to be ‘a mental health patient’ means people will put off seeing a doctor for months, years, or even at all, which in turn delays their recovery” (Healthline).  Just as with any physical illness, the pain of mental illness does not and will not go away unless it is properly treated. It is important to remember that it is okay to seek help, in order to not be consumed by a disease before it is too late.

Most do not take the time to learn about mental illness, until they are in a situation when it is a present factor in their life, or the life of a loved one. It is true that not everyone will ever understand the complexity of mental illness. Not everyone may care about ones who suffer with mental illness because they may not have a personal connection or are naïve to the truth about its’ seriousness. To try to understand mental illness is difficult unless you are educated and aware, and mental health is not something that can be fixed or cured overnight. Being in the Hollywood spotlight may not always be positive, but in our world today more and world celebrities are using their fame in a positive manner to help others fighting. They, in cooperation with organizations such as the National Alliance for Mental Illness, are fighting back, to make a stigma-free world to provide a comfortable environment for those who are currently afraid. Everyone, whether they know it or not, knows someone who has experienced and struggled with mental illness, and it is time to take a stand for those who feel in the dark to create healed lives in their purest freedoms.

Please click here to join the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and take the pledge to be stigma free.

Sources:

https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions

http://www.nami.org/stigmafree

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/in-depth/mental-health/art-20046477

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocrates

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/timeline/timeline2.html

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-causes-mental-illness

http://www.people.com/article/demi-lovato-launches-new-mental-health-awareness-campaign-be-vocal

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/lena-dunham-mental-health_n_7053556.html

http://www.eonline.com/news/617814/pete-wentz-talks-bipolar-disorder-fears-son-bronx-will-suffer-one-day-too

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-health-treatment-hindered-by-stigma-030214

https://www.nami.org/miaw