Negative Talk About Mental Health Is CRAZY

TRADITIONALLY, health care for us Westerners is routine. For most of us, we are pretty on to it when it comes to our physical health. We notice some symptoms, and then we look to how we can reduce them.

We go to our GP when we have the flu, our physiotherapist for a torn muscle, and our dentist when we have a toothache. If our GP refers us to a specialist then we are likely to attend.

Then we do what they say and for the most part, we are compliant. Some of us will also go outside of the traditional medical model and explore natural treatments.

Yet we hesitate when it comes to mental health. We sit in the uncomfortableness of our symptoms for longer than we ever would a physical health problem.

“How long have you had these symptoms?” I usually ask new clients. It is not unusual for me to get “for a few months,” “on and off since I was a teenager” or “for years” as a response.

Why do we do this? Why do we suffer in pain for so long? Why are we as a society so scared to deal with mental health issues when the sooner we deal with them, the better we will feel.

Why do so many people ignore their ‘mental health’ when it has to do with the most important organ in our body, our brain. Our brain controls every, single, thing we do. Why are we not quick to get help when it is not doing so well?

One reason is the stigma surrounding mental illness. Stigma is the fear of getting labelled in a negative way, and then treated differently because of it. It is the fear of being discriminated by the people around us.

We are scared to admit that we are not doing well psychologically, which is then stopping us from seeking help. When you think about it, it is quite ridiculous really that we feel the need to be ashamed of something that is so common. Nearly half of us Australians will experience mental illness at some point our lives.

But like other forms of discrimination, mental health stigma usually comes from a lack of knowledge and a fear of the unknown. Our society really doesn’t know enough about mental illness to make useful comments to support people who are clearly suffering.

Mental health problems are caused by a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors. These problems cannot be reduced to something that needs to be feared or something people need to just ‘get over.’ Why should we just be able to ‘get over’ our mental health problems?