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While the stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness has decreased in recent years, it still exists in our society and influences the way people think about mental health. This stigma remains for a number of reasons, one of which is the lack of interaction and experience with mental illness. According to Psychiatry.org, one of the best ways to reduce stigma is to have contact with someone who has a diagnosed mental illness, as that helps to humanize mental illness and make it seem less scary to outsiders. Personal anecdotes are powerful tools in helping break the stigma. But also, people must also be willing to educate themselves and develop an open mind to such a sensitive topic. Educating family members about mental health can be difficult but also offers great benefits.
Influence of Families
Family members are perhaps the most influential people in our lives. Typically, they raise us the moment we are born, helping us navigate our surroundings and shaping our understanding of the world. We look to them for guidance and reassurance, especially as children; our parents teach us everything they know and seem to have the answers to most questions we ask, either through experience or knowledge. However, what happens when we are mentally struggling and our families never grasped the concept of mental health? What about if they don’t “believe” in mental disorders like anxiety and depression? Suddenly our parents are no longer all-knowing and might be incapable of providing the support we need.
More Harm than Good
Failing to or refusing to recognize mental health struggles can be detrimental to those affected by poor mental health or mental health disorders. In one survey conducted by mentalhealth.net, only 25% of participants who suffered from a mental illness felt that people were caring and sympathetic to them, not excluding family members. This is a staggeringly low number. Without a support system, individuals may feel lonely and find themselves in even greater distress. They may suddenly be looked at as an outsider in the family or experience minimization in their struggles.
Downplaying mental illness is unfortunately not uncommon in older family members. In prior generations, obvious conditions like psychosis were hallmarks of mental illness, but depression could be chalked up to being overly unhappy. Only “crazy” people experienced psychosis. Mental health was ignored and people moved on with their lives. This generational socio-cultural difference has a lasting impact on the taboo nature of discussing mental illness. Phrases such as “grow up,” “life isn’t fair,” or “you’ll get over it” are heard too often for individuals struggling with mental illness. If our parents and grandparents could “get over it,” then why can’t we do the same?
A personal anecdote
Education and awareness are key to uncovering the answer of why the modern experience of mental health is different from the experience of our family members. For those who do not know how to start an open conversation about mental health with your family, here is a story of how I helped educate my family:
Last year at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a close family member started suffering from anxiety attacks. I was there to witness them, and it was new and slightly scary. I remember feeling helpless in that moment. Their parent did not understand what was happening and exacerbated the attacks when they would happen, saying “What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?” and “Stop making such a big deal.” It was only after the second anxiety attack that I realized my family member might be suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
This was the first time this ever happened but I knew the rest of our family wouldn’t understand the situation and even claim it was all dramatics. My relative could not advocate for themselves, and so I stepped in and explained to other family members what was happening and that it needed to be taken seriously. Given my background as a psychology major, I informed them of what I knew about anxiety attacks and encouraged my relative to seek a therapist.
Receiving an official diagnosis
When we heard back about an official GAD diagnosis, it was a breath of relief; now that we knew the state of my relative’s mental health, I helped compile resources to begin the process of educating family about mental health including the specific complexities of GAD—plus the ways we could all act as a support system.
Even today, as my family members slowly become more willing to discuss their mental health, we still have to progress on reducing stigma towards mental health disorders outside of our family. As I believe, the small steps are important and we can look forward to making greater steps along the way.
A healthy mind and healthy heart
I like to think about something I saw online a few years ago when thinking about the importance of mental health awareness. When we’re sick, like when we have a cold, we take medicine. Medicine relieves our pain and our symptoms, and when combined with plenty of rest, eventually we start to feel better. So if we are struggling with our mental health, then why do we not engage in treatment the same way? The brain is an organ too, just like our hearts that we have to closely monitor and take care of. “Heart healthy” is a common catchphrase found in foods and diets that promote resiliency against heart disease.
Our hearts and our brains are the most vital organs in our body; we should take care of one just as much as the other. By putting mental health into this perspective, I think this can help open minds and reduce the stereotypes of people with mental health issues. Our society does not look down upon or shun people who have had heart attacks or who have to rely on medication. As we treat our bodies, we should treat our minds as well.
Further education and discussions
With additional resources and education, there is hope to cultivate a better understanding of mental health in society. Engaging in open conversation, dispelling myths, and changing the way people interact with and think about individuals with mental illness are part of the education potential. We can begin by educating our family about mental health, especially if we ourselves are facing mental health struggles. As a result, they can become our most important support system.
References used:
Borenstein, J. (2020, August). Stigma and Discrimination. American Psychiatric Association. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination
Mayo Clinic. (2017, October 13). Generalized anxiety disorder – Symptoms and causes. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/generalized-anxiety-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20360803
Mentalhelp.net. (2021). The Stigma of Mental Illness. https://www.mentalhelp.net/aware/the-stigma-of-mental-illness/
NHLBI, NIH. (2021, June 23). Heart-Healthy Living. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/heart-healthy-living
Twenge, J. M. (2011). Generational differences in mental health: Are children and adolescents suffering more, or less? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(4), 469–472. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2011.01115.x
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