Why is mental health deemed as a taboo?

Question

I think that there is a negative stigma towards mental health, but why. People who are mentally ill do not necessarly bring it on themselves, and their condition is not something that they choose to have. It doesn't matter a person has depression or schizopherina it is a condition which needs to be address and attended to with care and sympathy. I just want to know where did the negative view come from?

I raelly appreciate everyones answers thank you. I have noticed that a lot of people have said that it is a lack of fear and understanding. But I have noticed that some people have said because it is not something that you can't see, it is ignored. But what about conditions like eating disorders and self harm. They are things that people can physically see, but why are these people stills dismissed by society. :(

Answer 1

The negative view comes from those being look down upon if they ask for assistance. It is thought of as a weakness, and no one wants to be thought of as weak. Cos if you appear weak, you get preyed upon. So, it's a defense mechanism that we establish. We'd rather suffer in silence than ask for help and admit that we need it. Also, the funtions of the brain are not completely understood, so we tend to fear the unknown. Progress is being made in the field of mental health, and chemical reactions in our brains are reponsible for many disorders, the cause of those reactions are still being researched. I agree with you completely that any type of illness needs to be addressed and attended to with care and sympathy. But not all physicians and health care providers exhibit that type of service. So many people are on YA asking what to do cos they feel this or that and they don't wan't to go to a psychiatrist. They are afraid of what people will think if they find out, the stigmata of being "unstable" and other derrogatory adjectives. Of course they don't choose to have a condition - but again, not knowing the reasons of why something happens, people are quick to judge, and dismiss and want to get as far away as possible, like it's contagious or something. And, perhaps patients being mistreated by healthcare professionals, and a lack of empathy for the ill contibutes to the stereotype. It's sad but true. Hope this answers your question, and keep on helping people, you're a doll!

Answer 2

It is fear that gives it the negativity. Some people who have never suffered from it sometimes doubt it exists.
In the work place for example, if someone is off for long periods of time with stress or depression their employer see's them as a liability, as this is a state of mind and not an injury or illness that can be seen. Work collegaues can be very unsympathetic to someone suffering as they feel that this person may be making some of it up.
Years ago people suffered in silence because of the stigma of mental illness and the way that others would treat them and although there have been many improvements in recognising mental illnesses I still think people get a rough deal.
My niece has been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic, she is only 20 and it has shocked the family. It has taken 2 years to diagnose it and a lot of heartache and now there is still no really treatment for her other than medication but no after care in her town. She is pretty much left to her own devices.
I think the upset is as much about how others will treat her as it is about her actual symptoms because of this illness.
Fear can cause all sorts of reactions and people get scared with mental illness because they cannot understand how that person suffering is feeling having never felt that way themselves. I also think the fear spreads to the person who isn't ill thinking that this could happen to them and know that some people have even worried that it may be catching.
I think nerves and stress, anxiety and depression have always been around it was just that people had to make do and get on with it many years ago. Now society has grown and more and more people are diagnosed with mental illness the powers that be have had to sit up and recognise this as a very real and definate illness.

Answer 3

I would guess that the mental field must attempt to make a connection or soution that you cannot see the physical connection.

For example, a professional concudes you are sad because your dog died.

I would think that a lot of the negitivity comes from the power that could be misused. Sometimes the conclusion they draw is not beleivable. It is also their effort that is a factor in their job. (how well they search for solutions) Much like lawers, they can be really good or not so great, but both do nothing wrong in their job steps.

For example, now the profession concludes you are sad because of your new girlfriend.

I too have negitive view of the mental health field and place them right up there with lawyers, doctors and dentist. These people try harder if you give them more money, not because they have a desire to do a good job, or know the best solution. They are filled with clients and must make minimum effort on each to move on to the next customer so they can take their monies too.

Answer 4

Hi,

I think it's just a subject that so many people are ignorant of due to poor education on the subject. Because mental illness is not always visable, it's sometimes dismissed or not believed by others, when the sufferer can't prove their pain. It is so terrible because it makes the mental illness for many people so much worse, because they fear being stigmatised and often don't go for help. I know for me personally it was a big reason i suffered in silence for so long.
I also think in the past, people with mental illness where simply seen as crazy or possessed and locked up in an asilum...and sometimes historical ways and ideas take a long time to pass.

My main answer to this question is that it's just ignorance on behalf of those who haven't been educated about mental health issues and/or have never experienced it.

x

Answer 5

Most of the stigma stems from our lack of understanding of how mental illness occurs and how the different types of mental illness affect personality. The lack of sympathy that you refer to is also an indication of the lack of understanding of the issue of mental health.

There are illnesses that are genetic and there are illnesses that are triggered by some form of emotional trauma or stress but we are only just begining to understand which ones are which and the best ways to help sufferers.

Thankfully the stigma surrounding mental health is begining to disperse as we become more and more aware of the issues involved, and people who are suffering from mental illness are begining to seek help and advice instead of struggling through on their own.

In a lot of cases simply talking to somebody and getting another perspective of the problems an individual is suffering can be enough to start the healing process. The worst thing you can do if you are having problems coping or if something is begining to affect your personality is to lock yourself away and hide from the problem.

Answer 6

I don't think mental illness is such a taboo subject nowadays. People with mental illness usually lack the necessary skills to cope with life on a long term basis. People often fear for that in themselves, but also lack understanding.

Those with mental illness often become institutionalised, and spend many years in and out of hospitals, and are often accused of being a drain on resources. For those who don't suffer, it might be easy to say "pull yourself together" or "get a job". Therefore, a negative stereotype arises.

Since mentally ill people often have no outward signs of physical illness, they don't garner as much sympathy. Cruel, but human nature.

Answer 7

Mental illness can't be seen,like a broken leg or some other ailment which is visible...We can go to a doctor and say,"I've got a pain " etc but when it's do do with the brain,no one understands..Which is probably why so many people are on anti depressants and for what it's worth,i would never recommend the latter.. Fundamentally,it's down to ignorance....

Answer 8

I have suffered for years (about 30) from agoraphobia and depression, I used to have a lot of people whom I considered to be friends, but because I can't go very far from my home village, bit by bit they have all (but 2 of them) disappeared into the woodwork, but I know that it is mostly because they don't understand the problem and also probably don't want to, if I had a broken leg and had plaster on it (something that can be seen in other words) then that would be understandable but because you can't see mental health problems then to those folk, it doesn't exist.

Answer 9

today a person has a mental breakdown and is treated at a nervous diseases hospital but years ago before they understood the illness if you had a breakdown you were referred to as a lunatic and treated at a lunatic asylum and people gave you a wide birth thereby bringing about the taboo of the illness so much so if a man in the front line in WWI developed the illness of fear he was accused of putting on an act so as not to fight anymore and he would be shot against the wall

Answer 10

mental illness can be difficult to categorize, and it often causes the affected person to act strangely - so it's harder to interact socially. people are made uncomfortable by anything they don't understand; someone who is mentally ill can look perfectly normal but then behave oddly, and that freaks a lot of people out. they don't know how to treat the mentally ill person so they turn them into an outcast instead, or at least as "different" - almost the same thing.