Have you ever felt misunderstood, out of context?
Have you ever been told that you are “exaggerated”, or that you don’t really fit in this society?
Have you ever struggled with studying and with keeping up with the lifestyle that society imposes you to have?
I think that for at least one of these question your answer will be yes.
But for people who suffer with mental illnesses the situation is worse: they suffer everyday because society doesn’t help them at all, also because their group of friends doesn’t know much about mental disorders. Furthermore the ones who suffer stay silent because society makes them feel ashamed, armless, wrong, unintelligent in front of a world of “normal” people.
The concept of two separate worlds who can’t communicate with each other mustn’t exist, there has to exist a bridge that connect us in a deep sense. That connection is made from communication, information and empathy.
Everyone has to be aware of the types of disorders that exist and read scientific informations, but the relevant matter is talking, empathizing with people who experience those kind of sufferings because none of them is only their diagnosis.
We all are really complex human beings who live their mental illness in different ways since we have various personalities and different backgrounds and none of us can never be summarized in a category.
We all have symptoms, we all have spectrums, it’s not a matter of whether we have it or not but a matter of how severe and intense the symtoms are and how they affect our daily life.
According to WHO:
-mental health is a mental state of well being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, to realize their abilities, to learn well and work well and to contribute to their communities;
-mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by difficulties in their cognitions (thinking in a different way), emotional regulation or behaviour.
Mental health struggles are very common in all countries all over the world, but most societies neglect it as a problem and do not provide the care people need. The results are pretty scary: tons of women, men and children who suffer in silence are completely unaware of the root of their pain and are also experiencing human rights violations and inequalities. There are also concrete factors that stop people from asking for help including stigma, discrimination and poor quality of services. Other health conditions are considered a priority over mental health by populations but the problem is that countries dedicate only 2% of their health care budget to mental health.
Mental Health resources are also unfairly distributed across countries, regions and communities. Populations with high rates of socioeconomic deprivations end up having the lowest access to care, whilst urban areas tend to be better resourced than the rural ones.
Services are inefficient for many marginalized groups such as indigenous people, refugees, and migrants, that are the categories that need them the most.
Mentally ill subjects are also a minority who aren’t always granted the whole set of human rights.
Around the world people with mental health conditions are frequently excluded from community life and denied basic rights.
They experience discrimination in employment, education and housing, but also they don’t enjoy equal recognition in front of the law, they experience isolation and violations including incarceration and ill treatment.
Society in general has stereotyped views about mental health and this phenomenon affects people with mental disorders and the way they are perceived form others. They are commonly assumed to be lazy, weak, unintelligent, difficult or even dangerous, when actually they are more likely to harm themselves than other people.
Women with mental illness are more at risk of sexual violence knowing that violence against people with those disorders can be more deadly than for others.
Social and mass media exacerbated misconceptions by painting them as dangerous. On the other side social medias like tumblr tends to “glamourize” mental illness, when they are not glamour at all!
Those kinds of phenomena happen in our occidental world. Let’s see what happened in an other continent.
One survey in Nigeria found out that 97% of people with Mental Illnesses are dangerous, 83% were afraid to talk to people with mental illnesses and only 17% would consider marrying someone with mental illness.
I’m sure that things can change: school could introduce emotional learning programmes that can help both who suffers of a mental disorder and who don't.
It is crucially important for people who own concrete experiences to spread awareness and acceptance of mental health disorders.
Schools and universities can be places of opportunity for mental health where every student should have the possibility to reach the same goal and if you have a disorder you should also have the right to use different tools and times, not because you’re less smart or less studious than your peers but because you function in a different way.
Differences are also interesting and people with mental illnesses offer a new perception of things that comes from a different point of view and a new way of thinking that should be seen as a resource, not as a limit.
Employers have the responsibility to create more job’s opportunities for people with mental conditions and governments should implement supportive legislations in human rights, labour and occupational health.
If you want to inform yourself a little bit more about mental disorders, this website is pretty much reliable but just in a scientific way, the reminder is always talking to the ones that have experienced the illness, they 'll tell you more!
Here’s a list of celebrities, politicians and historical figures that suffered for mental disorders.
You can read it both as a cuoriosities but also because lots of those people could able to reach big goals despite their illness and some of them had also declared their diagnosis in public to spread awareness.
-Ossessive compulsive Disorder: David Radcliffe, Leonardo Di Caprio
-Asperger: Albert Einstein, Anthony Hopkins
-Bipolar Disorder: Churchill, Van Gogh, Robin Williams, Catherine Zeta Jhones, Tim Burton, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix
-Borderline Personality Disorder: Marylin Monroe, Princess Diana
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