Being told that you have a mental disorder usually comes at the worst time, right after you have been struggling with a symptom and the problems caused by it. Giving the symptom a name like depression helps a lot, it tends to infer that something can be done about it, but if the label mentally ill is used, this can have many meanings, some of them are not very positive.
Less than one-third of the people who manifest symptoms of mental illness do not seek psychiatric care. There is so much ignorance about mental illness; a lot of it comes from misconceptions generated by the media. These misconceptions often just encourage prejudice and behavior that border on discrimination. In some parts of the world people who are adjudged to have a mental illness are denied the right to vote, the stigma attached to those who seek psychiatric care makes their world one of isolation.
Although society has a lot to learn about mental health issues, many people who suffer with problems are beginning to challenge this stigma.
Discussing your mental health:
Experiencing all that goes into suffering with a mental-health problem is difficult and very confusing to the patient. This makes it hard for the sufferer to share what is going on because of the realization that your life experience is so totally different than others who are close to you.
It’s perfectly natural that you concern yourself with what others will think and whether they will be able to understand what is happening to you. Evidence does point; however, that the stress associated with keeping the state of your mental health a secret, actually contributes to worsen the situation.
Choosing who to tell can be quite delicate. Even confiding in a medical professional can be stressful as you don’t know in advance how they may react. At times, it is easier to discuss your issues with someone who has gone through the experience in the past, someone who has had psychiatric care. Not only is telling this person allowing you to unburden yourself, the person may help you in making the right choices in who else to tell and how to tell them.
The effect on your family and friends:
Perhaps you have managed to confide your condition in a controlled manner to your family, or perhaps they have seen firsthand the difficulties you are experiencing. Close friends and relatives usually are affected in some manner by the mental-health problems of someone they feel close to.
They can feel frustration as well as you. They actually have less control over the issues than you do, they have to be very careful and discrete in whom they confide in as they do not want to be responsible for invading your privacy. A very delicate balance must be struck, and at times the family and friends are best when referred to a professional skilled in psychiatric care.
Psychiatric care is offered at Cedar Hills Hospital for a range of mental illnesses. They specialize in treating depression, sex addiction and many other conditions.
