BLANCK MAGAZINE ( THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE) Blanck Lite- THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE | Page 26

DE-STIGM
MENTAL
THE WAR AGAINST MENTAL
Words by A
M
ental illnesses can be experienced by anyone at any age and
could stem from a myriad of genetic, biological, psycholog-
ical and environmental factors –not a personal weakness
or defect-and affects the moods, thoughts and behaviors.
There are more than 200 classified forms of mental health
disordersand they usually present themselves gradually and can be triggered
by an avalanche of seemingly common occurrences such as excessive stress or
fatigue.
Society has had a long-existing prejudicial stance against mental illnesses, at-
tributing negativity, ignorant and misinformed notions to people coping with
these illnesses. They are viewed as unstable, dangerous, and unpredictable and
have borne the brunt of exclusion in society and even worse, brutalization.
Unfortunately, this bias has been a major deterrent to recovery and progress
as mental health patients fundamentally require understanding and support to
get better. Mental health stigma could be social; characterized by the percep-
tion and behaviors of others towards patients and the ‘labels’ they are tagged
with. The stigma could also be perceived or self-stigma characterized by the
internalized feelings of the sufferer who gets plagued by the discrimination
he faces and spirals into dark feelings of shame and unacceptability and even
worse, suicide.
Mental Hygiene was a term coined in the mid-19th century when there was
an outcry for abetter perception of the mentally ill. This idea advocated that
mental illnesses were not just situations that “other people” found themselves
in or something alien or farfetched. Social psychologist Marie Jahoda classified
mentally healthy individuals under six major categories which are a positive
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attitude towards the self, personal growth,
of reality and healthy interpersonal relati
As it is easy to deem ourselves normal an
imperative to realize that the feat of havin
to unconditionally offer support to those
their own.
The societal constructs of how the menta
fered in race, religion and other social se
understanding of victims of these conditi
covery, if at all. The emergence of the in
these numbers with quick information,
influencing made available by the interne
to this deadly scourge turn out to be “close
mental ailments in private for fear of bei
worse until the disparities become more
comes the denial by family and friends, t
those who may even offer their help; all of
and so goes the never-ending cycle.
“Mental health is a sensitive subject amon
be. We need to talk about it more, get rid
The Mental Health Atlas formed by the W
last year proposes a global plan to achiev
Health Plan. More research projects that t
bined efforts at country level in complian
services. This may be in an effort to cur