Aaron Halverson

Professor Kempton

English 1101

May 10th, 2019

Mental Health Stigma

Throughout the history of man-kind the development of humans and the technology

that has allowed us to advance has brought us to a point where more and more people are

going through mental illness. It was about a century ago that the study of the human brain

really started being taken seriously. What we have come to find out is that what we thought

was just a flu or small sickness turned out to be an illness in our head. Millions of people a year

are diagnosed with a mental illness and 1 in 5 adults say they go through or have gone through

a mental health disorder. The term to describe this issue that people have has shifted from

“mental health disorder” to “mental illness” because it needs to be taken more seriously as you

would any other disease or illness. What we need to do as a community is help those who go

through mental illness and destroy the stigma against it.

What is a stigma? A stigma is “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular

circumstance, quality, or person. The fact that there is even a stigma at all associated with

people that have mental illnesses is preposterous. This is one of the things that those people

have to deal with, the worry of thinking what others think of them when they find out they do

in fact have an illness. This leads to discrimination towards those with mental illness because

people think that now you have to treat them differently in order to help them get through

their struggles. This actually just causes the person with the health disorder to judge

themselves further worsening the problem at hand. There are plenty of contributors and factor
Aaron Halverson

Professor Kempton

English 1101

May 10th, 2019

that play in to the development of mental illness. The awareness of mental health has become

more prominent in today’s society but now what we need to do is take action in order help get

those back to where they need to be.

There are many causes of which that can lead to the development of mental illness.

Some of the main causes include: childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect, social isolation and

loneliness, social disadvantage, poverty, debt, losing someone close to you, severe or long-term

stress, long-term physical health condition, unemployment or losing a job, and drug or alcohol

misuse. The reason these are so prominent is because it causes your brain to focus on the

wrong things and be put under extreme stress furthering or worsening your mood.

There are many things that those who know someone with a mental illness can do to

help and give them the proper support they need. Instead of trying make them happy again we

need to dissect the root of the problem so they know why they are dealing with the issues that

they have. This is where therapy is always recommended because professionals are trained to

help do these exact things. Outside of that, it’s as simple as treating that person the way you

have always treated them so that they see that if others don’t see them any different then they

shouldn’t see themselves any different either. I believe this is the main factor that ultimately

makes things worse for those with mental illness because it creates doubt and lower self-

confidence. There are plenty of other options that people can seek to get the help they need in

order to get back to being themselves and going about their daily lives again.
Aaron Halverson

Professor Kempton

English 1101

May 10th, 2019

The most recommended thing is to get treatment and professional help. The next thing

is to not let yourself create self-doubt or shame yourself because of your label. Try to be as

social as you were before and don’t isolate yourself. Isolating yourself is terrible because others

can help increase your mood and make you forget about all the little things that are causing the

illness. Don’t define yourself by an illness that you may have, define yourself by how you are

going to get through it and ultimately that creates something to look forward to. There is no set

end for your illness but eventually there will be a light at the end of the tunnel that you have to

strive to get to. Lastly, speak out against your illness. If you don’t ever give yourself a chance to

grieve and accept the situation, then it makes it hard to get past. If you are able to get yourself

up and acknowledge yourself and your illness, then it can make a world of a difference.

What as a society need to do is eliminate the stigma of mental health and help those

who need it. Mental illnesses are no joke so if we can do more for those people then we will

live in a better place.