Pooja Priyamvada
(She is a columnist, social media consultant and author,most recently of Mental Health: A Primer)
1. You can just snap out of Depression or Anxiety.
FACT – Not that is not true. The human mind is a complex neurological organ and in addition, there are hormones, physical health factors and outside factors like relationship and socio-economic stress that can lead to a mental health crisis. It is not something one can snap out off one morning suddenly. a survivor might feel absolutely helpless while the mind is almost on auto-pilot through depression or anxiety. Survivors need support and assistance and more importantly care and compassion.
2. Mental health conditions aren’t real.
FACT– The human brain is an organ, so it can dysfunction just like our lungs or our heart can. If a person is under extreme or prolonged psychological stress they can reach a mental health crisis, similarly just like so many physical illnesses and pain mental health issues can have completely inexplicable origins but they are real and painful.
3. Mentally ill people are dangerous and violent.
The commonest perception attached to those surviving a mental health issue is that they can harm themself or attack someone for no reason. People begin to believe it is unsafe to be around them. The fact is that some patients might feel threatened and might attack in self-defense or sometimes might get violent but all survivors are not violent.
4.Mental illness is a sign of weakness in character.
This is one accusation often thrown at people who face a mental health crisis. people tell the survivor that those with strong will power can overcome depression, combat phobia, fight anxiety. However, this is untrue and often people also fall into addiction like alcohol, nicotine and other substance of abuse. A mental health situation is certainly out of the scope of merely a strong will power, however, it can assist in the recovery process.
5. The symptoms of mental health conditions are all emotion-related.
Mental health conditions are not just emotional. It’s usually a mixture of both emotional and physical discomfort. Depression or anxiety manifests in a lot of physical discomforts, including aches and pains, sleeping too much or too little, and extreme lethargy
