The Odyssey Online: In Honor of Mental Health Awareness Month
A message from The Odyssey Online: "Odyssey recognizes that mental well-being is a huge component of physical wellness. Our mission this month is to bring about awareness & normality to conversations around mental health from our community. Let's recognize the common symptoms and encourage the help needed without judgement or prejudice. Life's a tough journey, we are here for you and want to hear from you."
Now onto the article!
"The first article I wrote for the Odyssey was about one of my experiences with anxiety. It wasn't written as a cry for help, but rather in the hopes that someone else who hasn't opened up about their mental health issues could feel like there was someone they could relate to. Now, in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to open up more about why it’s of paramount importance that we address mental health awareness.
I can say from personal experience that it’s difficult to admit you have mental health issues, especially because of the stigma that surrounds them. Emotional distresses and illnesses are more often than not “treated” by being told to “suck it up” or “deal with it,” while physical health issues are treated with utmost seriousness. And unlike an antibiotic that can heal the stomach flu or a fever, there is no reliable cure-all for mental health issues.
I’ve often wondered why there exists such a gap between acknowledgment of physical health and mental health problems. I personally believe this can largely be attributed to how the latter is discussed across the media. We toss and turn over the irrational actions of mentally-ill psychopaths that star in the dramas and horror movies we watch. We blame the genocides committed by criminals in the news on their mentally-ill states. As a society, we have created in our minds this idea of some Joker-looking, eye-twitching, drug-overdosed monster that is the “mentally-ill.”
We are also taught to judge how much our mental health issues matter based on where we come from. I am guilty of trivializing my own mental health issues, and even denying that they exist because of how comfortable my life is. I have internalized the belief that someone who claims to have mental health issues while living a life with minimal tangible struggle is in reality, just being petty. This is completely false. However, to be brutally honest, even as I type that, I don’t believe it entirely. I try every day to teach myself that my issues are real and should be dealt with as so, but it has been engrained in my brain for far too long that they are not. And so, I’m not just writing this article to reach out to others, I’m also doing it to try to help myself.
I’m in no way proud of the fact that I have mental health issues. However, I believe that I must recognize and acknowledge them as an important first step to realizing I need to reach out and get help. We should all feel unafraid to address our mental health issues. In fact, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, around 61.5 million adults in the United States alone undergo a variety of mental illnesses. This is approximately 1 in 4 adults. Given the prevalence of mental health issues here in America, it should make sense that they are discussed more, or even at all. Instead, we oftentimes hide these issues behind chipper facades. Not everyone who has a mental health issue seems like the “type of person to have a mental health issue," and the statistics prove just that.
By writing this article, I don’t expect to solve the issues of stigma surrounding mental health issues. But mental health awareness is a topic that isn’t talked about enough, nor recognized largely enough as a topic worth discussing. As the proverb goes, the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging it exists. So I hope that this piece encourages people to do their own part in ridding the stigma. Mental health issues are real, and it’s about damn time we recognize that."
*I think this this might be my favorite article that I've posted so far. I really wanted to post something about Mental Health Awareness Month, but I couldn't find anything until now that got the point across the way I wanted it to. The world does not address mental health as urgently as it should. We are in an epidemic of mental health and we do not treat it the same as physical health. The pandemic has only worsened mental health, but I truly do not think the stigma has changed. I hope that by sharing this article, it encourages others to get the help the need. There are so many great Listeners here on 7 Cups, but you can also talk to someone you care about if you feel that you may need more help via a doctor or therapist. I am going to list some resources below if anyone needs them. Happy Mental Health Awareness Month everyone! 7 Cups loves you! 💜*
#MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #Stigma #GetHelp
Read the full article here.
Resources
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists You can use this link to help search for a therapist in your city!
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ This is the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can call them at 1-800-273-8255
https://www.crisistextline.org/ This is the Crisis Text Line. You can text them at 741-741
https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/ Here is a list of international hotlines!
Remember, there is always someone willing to listen, whether it be someone you trust or here on 7 Cups! You are never alone! 💜
I find this article a little problematic. You know the memes about insulin vs. narcan that have gone around? And it's pointed out hey let's not put treating overdoses down just because we need to have better access to insulin for those who need it?
I think we need to start taking the same approach with mental and physical health issues. Stop putting down the (often inadequate) help there is for physical health issues. The number of times I have been told things are all in my head, or are stress, etc. and have been brushed off when really I needed urgent treatment has been excessive, and I'm not alone. I have also been told I just need to suck it up when it comes to my physical symptoms.
There isn't really a think such as a 'stomach flu', there are gastrointestinal viral illnesses and antibiotics don't clear those up. There is no reliable cure-all for illnesses period, doesn't matter if it's physical or mental.
And yes, there are issues with media and mental illnesses, but the same is also true for physical illnesses. 2 headed monsters, vampires - those are based off of things like conjoined twins and porphyria. It's not unusual for someone who has a series illness to be treated more as a prop in media rather than an actual person. How many people know what SCID is vs how many people have heard of 'bubble boy'?
Absolutely yes, stigma needs to be dropped with mental illness. I think in many places mental health care needs to be better incorporated with healthcare systems. Healthcare systems in general though need work - both for the physical and the mental plus integrating both together. Do we want mental illness to be treated like physical illness? For something simple and acute, like step throat that needs a course of antibiotics? Sure, we want just as much compassion. When it comes to serious, complicated chronic illnesses - I don't understand why people with mental illness would want it to be treated like physical illness, it's a battle with the healthcare system that involves gaslighting a lot of the time.
@AffyAvo Thank you for your thoughtful reply! I do agree that people with physical and mental illness are both treated poorly in the healthcare system a lot, but I don't think the point of this article was to compare or negate the experiences of those who struggle with physical illnesses. I think both physical and mental illnesses experience stigmas, but they don't have to be compared to each other in a negative light. There are similarities and differences to both. I just think that people who struggle with mental health wish that they were taken as seriously, for example, diabetes. People aren't stigmatized for taking insulin. Why should they be stigmatized for taking an antidepressant?
@fruityPond7887 I agree with you, I just wish the article hadn't included those things, then it really could have been great! It's also a sentiment that does get brought up a lot - and I get it I have had similar thoughts myself with different groups. It creates a bit of us and them and puts the them down (or minimizes their difficulties) in an attempt to bring the us up - but I think it harms both the us and the them.
If wanting to add in the comparison, I think a better way to do it would be hey this specific aspect of physical healthcare works well, can we should really get the equivalent for mental healthcare. I think that would come across waaay better than just acting like there's a pill that cures a ton a physical issues and stating gee mental illness has it rough, nothing like that exists on this side.