I saw this illustration drawn by Beatrice the Biologist and stopped in my tracks. It’s so simple.
While I don’t really like bragging about vomit or the sniffles on Facebook, I will hide any wavering in my mental health more than I will anything else. Why is this? We have a lot of shame and guilt surrounding mental illness and mental health issues that make it hard for people to admit when there’s a problem and to get the help they need
Have you found this to be true in your life? How do we as people make it easier for other people in our life to talk about mental health? How have you learned to talk to other people about it? How do we as society encourage this conversation?
Thank you to Beatrice the Biologist!
Here are some ways to start engaging in this conversation:
5 Things I Wish I’d Known About Teen Boys and Mental Illness
The True Story of How My Mental Illness Had Me Nearly Shot by the Cops
Politically Correctness and Mental Illness
The Importance of Black Male Mental Health
One key difference is that a lot of people think of the mind as something we are all supposed to have total control over, and so the assumption seems to be that if you’re strong or tough or brave or virtuous enough, you can just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and think differently. Americans tend to be especially merciless about this, maybe because of a moralistic puritanical streak in American culture. Like “you have to stop your bad thoughts, and if you can’t then you’re a bad person.” (The further out on the ends of the political spectrum you… Read more »
Hi Deanna This is important. Why don’t do tell us why you hide your emotional distress more than anything else? I am not ironical. I think the one way out of this problem it to be couscous HOW we share our troubles with others. Daily I read http://www.madinamerica.com and I can recommend it. And since I am Scandinavian I am impressed with the method used in North Finland called “Open Dialog”. They have eradicated schizophrenia! Excuse my use of words,English is not my first language . I see I have not answered your questions. Why are emotional health issues stigmatized… Read more »
That’s just spot on – and much better than a long explanation. Thanks for sharing this.
In my experience, mental (and emotional) issues *is* something we can talk about, but with a much smaller network. So, while we may have close friends who will support us and help us, With physical issues, we can joke about and get support from casual acquaintances.