It’s the 21st century; depression, suicide and anxiety rates are going high and we still refuse to talk about it.
And by we, I mean the Indian society. Talking or discussing mental health has been and is still taboo in most parts of India. Pretty ironic considering how the prevalence of depression in India is 15.1%, resulting in approximately 57 million people affected by depression according to a study conducted recently.
And it’s not just about depression or suicide. This stigma in our society is towards any kind of mental health issues ranging from personality disorders like ‘Borderline Personality Disorder’ to behavioural disorders like ‘ADHD’, ‘Obsessive Compulsive Disorder’, ‘Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder’, among countless others.
In fact, more than half of the Indian population might not even be aware of these mental health problems. But, before we dwell more on these disorders, let’s pause and discuss why mental health is taboo.
One of the main reasons one can narrow it down to is the misconceptions and myths surrounding mental health and illness. A popular belief is that being diagnosed with any kind of mental health disorder qualifies an individual as ‘crazy’, ‘mad’ or ‘a retard’. Such terms are usually thrown out pretty casually in daily conversations as well. Well, we might want to rethink our choice of words now.
The word ‘crazy’, ‘mad’ and/or ‘retard’ add to the stereotypes surrounding the diagnosis of mental health. As it is, there is a lot of stigma surrounding this particular topic and using such words doesn’t help. Being diagnosed with a mental illness is scary in itself for one, needless to say how the myths and stereotypes have portrayed it to be scarier. The only way to get rid of this tension around discussing mental illness is by talking about it freely and encouraging one to get the appropriate help when needed. This cannot, however, be achieved when words like ‘crazy’ are thrown in, making one feel even isolated and different than they already do.
Yet another reason for the taboo present behind mental health is the supposed ‘exaggeration’. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed whenever any sort of mental health issue is brought up in a conversation, is that the person addressing the issue is often called out for ‘over-reacting’ and/or ‘exaggerating’. This is something that we again need to work at putting an end to. When someone is sharing anything related to any mental health issue, they are not ‘exaggerating’. Just because one might not be able to understand the relevance or importance behind a particular issue doesn’t mean it can’t greatly affect someone else’s life.
Last but not the least, a popular reason behind the stigma is the fear of being judged, by anyone and everyone. As mentioned earlier, opening up about mental illness and mental health is quite hard and scary in itself but what makes it even harder is when one realises that as soon as they finish, there is going to be someone out there who is going to judge them.
And while what other’s say and their opinion might not matter as much to one, what one’s close, loved one’s say or think matters a lot. Being on the receiving end of the mockery from one’s loved one after talking about one’s mental health is what holds back most people from sharing their feelings.
Now that the reason behind the stigma is clear, we, as a society, need to work towards the reduction or even better, the disappearance of it. And while that may seem like a difficult task, it really isn’t. The one thing that can immensely help is education.
As we all must’ve heard, education is one of the biggest weapons there is. Education has the power to change the world if used to spread the right message. Educating both children and adults about mental health issues and mental illness’ is extremely important. When the correct information is spread and the misconceptions are busted, talking openly about mental health won’t be as hard.
As Steven Aitchison once said, “Emotional pain is not something that should be hidden away and never talked about. There is truth in your pain, there is growth in your pain, but only if it’s first brought out in the open.”
