Mental Health Awareness

<p>When you imagine someone who is mentally ill, how do you picture them? Your response can help you determine if you are feeding into the stigma of mental health.</p> <p>According to the American Psychiatric Association, this stigma can stem from misconstrued stereotypes and prejudices that indicate that people with mental illness are dangerous or unpredictable.</p> <p>This type of public shame can lead to self-stigma, making the individual feel guilty of their illness and creating more extensive discrimination in society.</p> <p>Nearly 1 in 5 American adults live with a mental illness, and an estimated 19 million Americans experience a major depressive episode each year. With such prevalence, why the stigma?</p> <p>“A common misconception is that mental health is all or nothing. For example, there are various diagnoses within mental health. I think the blame leads people to consider that mental health is more of the severely mentally ill, like those who are psychotic or schizophrenic,” said Latasha Ellis, a psychotherapist at Iredell Psychiatry.</p> <p>https://www.iredellhealth.org/news/releases/mental-health-awareness-squashing-the-stigma/</p> <p>“In all actuality, a lot of people struggle with less challenging situations, but those characters may still fall under the umbrella of mental illness.</p> <p>The most common mental illnesses are depression and anxiety — something that multiple individuals have faced.</p> <p>The mental health stigma may prevent individuals with a mental illness from seeking treatment to avoid being incorrectly labelled as “crazy” or “dangerous.” In addition, this stigma may create a lack of understanding from family, colleagues, or others.</p> <p>According to the National Institute of Mental Health, men with mental illnesses are less likely to have received mental health treatment than women. However, men are more likely to die by suicide than women.</p> <p><b>Why is this?</b></p> <p> Women are typically more open and emotional. Men may not share readily because societ