J - Just Myths #AtoZ #MentalHealthAwareness

Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increase the burden: It is easier to say "My tooth is aching" than to say "My heart is broken".

Challenging irrational beliefs about mental health is as much a part of raising awareness about mental illnesses as talking about disorders, syndromes and treatment plans.

Here are a few common myths people have about mental health/illness that prove to hurdle in the recovery of most survivors.

"People with Mental Illness are at fault because they don’t have enough willpower to change"

Most caretakers, families and friends of survivors and general public believe that those who struggle with depression can just will away their symptoms but are too lazy and unmotivated to do so. Blaming someone for struggling with  a mental health issue is like telling a cancer survivor she is dying because she doesn’t want to live badly enough. Mental or not, illnesses can come without just cause. People sometimes exacerbate this by judging the mentally ill as melodramatic or too stubborn to change.

This isn’t true.

"People with Mental Illness are dangerous and violent"

Often people believe that mental health survivors can physically harm themselves or others, which is true only in some cases and not all. Most media reports disproportionately on cases where people with mental health conditions commit violent acts and almost demonises them. The film industry and TV industry often depicts villains as psychotic.

However in reality people with Mental Illness are more likely to be victims. Mentally ill people are actually more likely to be victims of violence, according to a study published in the American Journal of Mental Health.

"People who look or act happy/normal aren’t  mentally ill"

People who don’t understand mental illness look at several suicide or mental breakdown victims and think, “Everything seems to be going great for him. How could he be depressed?”

Actually most mentally ill people don’t act or look a certain way and often are also successful, wealthy and active and yet some issue afflicts their mind and thought process. Remember people with mental illness are not “crazy.”

"Having a positive attitude can cure depression"

Depression is not something that somebody can just will away. Often, people have this misconception that if a person is depressed they need to just “be positive” or try their best to “shake it off”. Depression is not simply a feeling of sadness, but a serious medical condition that affects the biological functioning of the body. Cognitive therapy and medications can help address the underlying symptoms and causes of depression.

"People with a mental illness lack intelligence"

Intelligence has nothing to do with mental illnesses or brain disorders. Just like general population many people with mental disorders are brilliant, creative, productive people and some are not brilliant or creative. Certain mental illnesses may make it difficult for people to remember facts or get along with other people, making it seem like they are cognitively challenged. Overall, the level of intelligence among people with mental illness likely parallels the patterns seen in any healthy population.

DISCLAIMER: All the information being provided her has been sourced from the internet and books and some also via personal experiences. It has no medical authentication per se so suggestions if followed must be done in consultation with a trained mental health professional.

References:

https://cmha.ca/documents/myths-about-mental-illness

http://canwetalk.ca/about-mental-illness/myths-about-mental-illness/

This post is a part of April Blogging from A To Z Challenge

You can find all my posts here.