5 Ways To Combat The Stigma Around Mental Health

Mental health continues to be a taboo subject in society, with 18.6 percent of all adults in the U.S suffering from a mental illness.?However, only 13.4 percent of those are getting any mental health treatment at all. There are a number of reasons for this ? but one thing which we can do is to encourage ourselves or other people that we know to get help.

Over at Huffington Post, they have five ways you can help?find the treatment you need. Unfair stigma leads to discrimination, either direct or indirectly, and can lead you to feeling isolated from civilization:

1. Make Sure ?Going to the Doctor? Includes Going to a Therapist, If Needed

For most people, visiting a primary care doctor and visiting a behavioral therapist are two very different things. But what if a checkup with your primary doctor led to a visit down the hall to a behavioral therapist, all before your appointment is over?

Integrating behavioral therapy into primary care was the panel’s main focus. Doing so would allow patients to truthfully tell family members or friends that they are visiting the doctor, without having to face any static about going to therapy.

2. Recognize That Friends and Families Can Be Powerful Allies

It may seem daunting at first, but family members and friends have a crucial role to play in helping someone struggling with a mental health issue.

We’ve still got a long way to go when it comes to communicating our concern for people affected by mental illness. A?2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report?on stigma showed that while 57 percent of adults without mental illness believe that people are generally caring and sympathetic toward those with mental illness, only 25 percent of adults with mental health symptoms believe the same.

Talking about mental illness indicates to others that they?re not alone and also opens up debate about how we can deal with it. Learning to accept your condition and recognizing what you need to do to treat it makes a huge difference. Check out the article now?and discover how you too can overcome your mental issues.