Despite being an important aspect of life, seeking mental health is still somewhat taboo. There may be more discussion about mental health now than a few decades ago, but the topic still remains touchy for some. Here are several reasons why society should stop treating as an uncomfortable topic.
We Are Shaming Those That Need Help.
There are plenty of people in the world suffering from depression, anxiety, and plenty of other mental conditions. However, instead of seeking the proper help and recovering, these individuals are afraid of being labeled “crazy” by their peers. Unfortunately, this can lead to them lashing out at their friends and loved ones as well as further emotional isolation.
We Are Waiting Until It’s Too Late.
Only during tragedies does society as a whole take mental health seriously. If a student takes their life or someone famous overdoses, then there’s a serious discussion about mental health. However, this serious tone evaporates once the shock of the tragedy has passed. The same reaction is repeated towards the next tragedy but the same issue remains.
We Are Shaming Males For Needing Help.
Gender roles in society dictate that all males should be strong both physically and mentally. These hypermasculine expectations often make those in need feel guilty. Depending on the environment that these males are raised in, they may deal with their emotional needs in negative ways. If society would allow males to be vulnerable without feeling a loss of masculinity, the taboo of therapy wouldn’t be prevalent.
We Are Making Something Normal…Abnormal.
If you were to break your arm then the solution would be to visit a doctor asap! Nobody would call you weak for needing medical attention because how else would you heal? However, when someone is suffering from anxiety, society has a tendency to trivialize their trauma. The problem is that a person’s mental health is intangible which makes it harder for some people to empathize with them. This archaic way of thinking holds us back because we are acting like suffering through trauma is a normal aspect of life.
We Are Holding Ourselves Back.
Just think if everyone made going to therapy a priority? Whether you male or female, there wouldn’t be any hesitation to express yourself. Maybe everyone wouldn’t necessarily be cured of all their mental troubles, but this stigma against seeking mental help wouldn’t exist. More people would actually understand why they act and think the way that they do. They would be able to connect all the emotional dots from their past and be able to cope with whatever trauma they’re dealing with.
We Are Lying To Ourselves.
Everyone wants to give off the illusion of being happy. Quite often people let their pride get in the way of healing themselves. I believe that the reason for this is that we are all afraid to let our guard down. Even amongst our own family members, we pretend that whatever trauma we’re dealing with isn’t that bad. Nobody wants to be treated differently after exposing that they might need some help.
We Are Giving False Impressions.
The overall taboo of seeking mental health has only gotten stronger thanks to false depictions of many mental conditions. Movies, television, and media, in general, tends to drastically exaggerate many real-life conditions that people experience daily. For this reason, some people are afraid of being labeled crazy due to needing some help. They are afraid also afraid of the effects that medication may have on them thanks to these gross exaggerations within media. There’s just an overall lack of factuality within the general public’s perception of therapy and who’s it intended for.