Do you know someone with a mental health condition? Maybe one, or two? Mental health conditions are commonly thought of as depression, schizophrenia, or anorexia; but also intellectual conditions like Attention Deficit disorder (ADHD), autism and learning disabilities. Addiction is also classified as a mental health disorder like alcoholism and opiate addictions. All of these conditions affect the same area of the brain. These conditions disturb variously the mental functions of cognition, perception and emotion regulation. I'm not talking about the people with problems in daily living and casual stress issues.
The World Health Organization states that one in four people suffer from mental illness at one point in their life. Everyone should know someone with a mental disorder and the fact that many of us believe we don't, shows the general lack of awareness and understanding of what mental illness is. Stigma is defined as “the mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality or person”. This is a dishonorable trait alone. When you google examples of stigma, the highlighted answer states “when someone with a mental illness is called ‘dangerous’, ‘crazy’ or ‘incompetent’ rather than unwell.” Even google (an internet robot) recognizes the number one source of astigmatism to be mental health.
I want you to think about this scenario for a moment. You are invited to give a guest lecture at a local college. Before that event you get sick and have to cancel. When you call to cancel would you prefer to say you have food poisoning and are throwing up or are depressed and suicidal? Or would you rather say you threw out your back or are experiencing a panic attack? If you would prefer the former, you are affected by stigma. Stigma can creep in from all corners of life.
Internalized or self stigma is derived from media astigmatisms and increasinging stigma in society which is then internalized and overall reduces self esteem and thus enforces the idea of never being able to fully recover. Social stigma is the negative belief in which society has on mental illness which ultimately results in violence and rejection “due to the perpetuating belief that all mental health patients are dangerous” according to Clarke. These astigmatisms are reactions to the portrayal of patients with mental illness conditions in the media often depicted as feared, unwanted and uncared for. Although mental health is stigmatized, there are many conditions in which stigma varies. For example people are unsympathetic to certain disorders to certain disorders especially eating such as anorexia, “people feel the disorder is self-inflicted, therefore, these people are undeserving of help” in regard to Stewart.
The Mental Illness stigma is arguably the strongest known, it crosses all race, gender, sexual orientation or religious boundaries. For people with REAL HEALTH PROBLEMS that can hurt and kill them, they cannot be smothered into silence no more. According to the WHO in 2019 “Globally, approximately 800,000 suicides occur every year, with another 16 million people attempting suicide; therefore, early identification and treatment are imperative to reducing these statistics”. Personal and Social Stigma contribute to this horrific number of lives taken at their own will, their last call of hope, and even in the afterlife and not socially accepted? I simply cannot fathom the fact. So, in an endeavor to call for action and bring awareness, I give you my personal statement dealing with mental illness.
A pregnant woman was driving home from work, in the backseat, her 3 year old who she just picked up from daycare. Driving home we were listening to Taylor Swift on the radio and the mom began to cry. She pulled the car over and continued to cry hysterically. Her 3-year-old asked her what was wrong and the woman did not respond. She then jumps out of the car and begins to run into the night leaving her 3-year-old unattended in the car. Her daughter, beyond confused, gets out of her car seat, opens the car door and yells at her mom but no response and nobody in sight. The 3-year-old sat in that car for 3 hours alone and scared until her father came and picked her up. As far back as I can think, this is my first memory of life. And yeah thats some fucked up shit to go through when youre really young, but even at the time I remember not understanding what was wrong with my mom but really wanting to do anything in my power to help.
I would pray at night I would pray for a normal mom. A mom who would take me to school and tuck me into bed at night. I would ask why doesn't she love me? Why doesn't she want to be my mom? Why does she keep leaving us? My father tried to explain it best he could, that “she said she was sick”, she didn't have any bruises or scratches on her body, nothing was wrong with her physically.
When I was six my mom was out of the hospital. We would go on walks to the park and make mini volcanoes that erupted and would play together till the sunset. At night, she would scream and cry. The first time I ran into my parents room to see what was happening and she would just lay on the bed and cry, in my six year old mind I couldn't understand what was wrong. Everything was perfect. This continued to happen but my dad would lock the door for our own safety he said. She was bedridden for two years. She wouldn't talk, couldn't move or sleep. That was really hard. I had gotten my mom back so briefly and now she's gone again? I was so mad at God for not giving me what I was constantly praying for.
My friends at school would always ask where my mom was and when she was going to come and be the “class mom”. I always said she’s really busy and has better things to do. Even at age six, little me was affected by stigma. I truly never felt like a mom was obtainable for me, and truly never understood what was wrong with her which made me scared to try and explain that she had Bipolar Disorder. When I was eight, my mom attempted suicide in our kitchen and she was sent to a long term mental health rehabilitation facility. Once again this horrible illness that was suffocating my mother from the inside out robbed me of one. My mom came back healthy, happy and ready to take control of her life. Within the next year, she restarted her company and got back on her feet. She was there for us like she always had been just now completely healthy.
When I was fourteen, I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and GAD after having a panic attack for almost three days straight and not sleeping for a week. My mental health slipped and I am very fortunate to have parents who knew what to do when someone was mentally ill. I still have to manage my anxiety to this day but not watching my mom deal with mental health would’ve made me extremely more scared of the unknown, so I am eternally grateful to her.
If a family member, loved one or even yourself are going through a though time or may be experiencing a mental illness, here are some common symptoms to be aware of from psychiatry.org:
change in sleep or appetite
mood changes - rapid and or dramatic
withdrawal or loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed
Drop in function at school, work or social activities
Problems with concentration
Increased sensitivity
Apathy or loss of initiative or desire to participate
Illogical thinking like unusual or exaggerated beliefs
Nervousness
Some risk factors in which you should also be aware of are:
Alcohol or other substance use
Trama
Hopelessness
Impulsive or aggressive tendencies
Major physical illness
Previous suicide attempt(s)
Family history of suicide
Job or financial loss
Loss of relationships
These symptoms and situations alone cannot predict or define a mental illness, but should seek a doctor's evaluation. Some helpful resources that I have personally found and are helpful:
988: “988 is the National Suicide prevention lifeline in which provides free and confidential support for people experiencing mental health distress. 988 is the most commonly used hotline for those in crisis”
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
“An inspring non profit advancing research and dedicated to save lives, bringing hope to those affected by suicide.” AFSP hosts “Out of The Darkness Walks” to bring suicide loss survivors together and raise money for suicide prevention. To get help Get Help AFSP.
Anyone can text TALK to 741-741 to text with a trained crisis counselor for free 24/7. Every counselor is a real-life human being trained to bring texters from a crisis to a cool and calm state with active listening and problem solving.
Project LETS is a national organization and movement led by people who have lived with mental illness, disability, trauma and neurodivergence. They specialize in building transformative peer mentor support collectives and community mental health care structures that do not depend on state sanctioned systems that may cause harm. They work with multiple marginalized people in our community to provide access, political education and material resources that are necessary to survive.
American Society Hispanic Psychiatry
The American Society Hispanic Psychiatry’s purpose is to promote collaborative processes between Hispanic mental health professionals and other Latino-focused organizations. They advocate for policies based on the best available evidence that aims to eliminate health disparities and to support Latino patients and families.
The Trevor Project Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678
The Trevor Project is a 24/7 hotline that serves LGBTQ+ individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. LGBTQ+ youth are at increased risk of suicide. The Trevor Project provides free, confidential support to young LGBTQ+ people experiencing emotional distress.
The Trans Lifeline provides trans peer support for the trans community that has been stigmatized and rooted against. The Trans Lifeline is run by trans people for trans people.
The mental health stigma is actively hurting and preventing struggling individuals from receiving the healthcare they need. There is a poisonous notion of self inflicting that is just incorrect. Physical health is just as important as mental health. Your mind is where you house your soul, your personality, every single thought, feeling and emotion you have occurs in your mind first. If I had not experienced my childhood how it was, I would not have the same understanding of this horrible illness, so I ask of you, no I beg for you to check in on your friends, peers and people around you. If anyone in your environment is portraying the symptoms, listening or is actively going through a similar situation, report their behavior and get a licensed professional to check in on them. Shut the stigma down and start asking questions and discussing how you feel.
Part 2
I chose to write using this genre because I’ve never had the space or mental capacity to write about my personal experience or be this vulnerable in an academic setting. I felt a blog would provide me with the ease to speak naturally instead of intensifying my experiences with academic language. It was interesting to explore talking directly to your reader in certain aspects and being able to cross that fourth wall. I wanted to write a meaningful piece that accurately displayed my feelings toward mental health and personal experience. Writing about my past that I want to overlook and not share was very difficult. I struggled, broke down and procrastinated writing this blog. For weeks I was scared to write this blog and seriously struggled with where to begin. Although writing it as a blog post made actually completing the assignment much easier than I thought it would be.
I wanted to speak directly to my reader, someone who can help change mental health stigma. Make the reader feel accountable and light a fire under them to make change. I wanted to show a vulnerability which can only be expressed through the most raw language. With the structure of a blog post, I was able to do just that. I hope readers will feel something after reading my blog and be inclined to participate in this action to destigmatize mental health.
I personally believe I did not write a title that is usual for blog posting. My title breaking the stigma is very straightforward and not catchy. I want readers to know right away that this is a blog with an action item that holds you accountable. A blog always starts with a compelling tone, one that catches the reader and asking a question that everyone can answer was my goal.
I did not typically label my sections like a regular blog post may have, although I felt the change was probably prominente in my writing to need the labels. I did really love using bullet points in my writing to make a list of items more visually appealing to the reader. I believe listing symptoms and risk factors was more digestible using bullet points. I abided by these conventions of blog structure by writing mostly in a casual tone, and sometimes as if I was talking to a peer. I wanted my personal story to jump up at you as if I was telling the reader this story to their face. I utilized bullet points when listing symptoms and risk factors to make readers more aware of mental health and look out for their friends and family. In this blog post, I hyperlink my sources directly into the document. This allows the reader to read more about the facts stated if interested.
The range of audiences that writers typically use this genre to address are ones who want to know more or personal stories on topics. These are not academic audiences that need cold facts and case studies. Blog posts are usually writer rants on random topics just casual storytelling and life guiding, they can be whatever you want them to be, and there is probably a blog just about everything. I believe readers find blogs for seeking advice when not wanting to talk to others or find relatability. Blogs can also be used as a relaxed source of information that readers enjoy reading like fanfiction, everyday life stories, media reviews the list is honestly endless.
I used the blog post genre to write specifically towards my peers and classmates. I wanted to write about an experience I had as a young child that maybe others didn't, but want people to understand mental illness through my experience. People need to understand that this is not a voluntary illness like any other physical one and these people need help, care and the same treatment we all deserve. I wrote to my class to try and raise awareness that mental health may affect more people than you may believe.