Mental illness is a touchy subject in any society. Even the ones who are going through mental illnesses are reluctant to talk about it. The lack of information on these leads to people blaming the patients themselves for causing the issues, their issues have been referred to as phases and their inability to control the situation.
The stigma associated with mental issues forces people to feel ashamed for something, which is out of their control. To make matters worse, it keeps people from looking for help. For someone going through such a monumental issue, a stigma only adds an unnecessary burden on top of everything. We should look at alleviating their situation and helping them however we can. Let us look at some of the most impactful ways you can contribute and make a difference.
Talk openly about it
If you openly talk about mental issues in front of someone going through these issues, it will encourage them to come forward and discuss their issues when needed. Educate yourself on the matter and politely intervene whenever you see someone talking harshly about it. It will help ease the patients into discussing their issues.
Treatment
If you are facing a mental illness, you can still make a change and be open about your treatment. Tell others that you are working on your condition and regularly seeing a psychiatrist north sydney. Why should you have to be ashamed when you are seeking help when people can easily tell everyone that they have appointments with their physician or orthodontist? Not only will it help you but it will encourage others to seek help as well.
Create an emergency kit
Just like a roadside emergency kit, this one is quite easy to make. All you need is to create a list of every person and friend who can make the patient feel good. They might feel good petting their cat, or by wearing their special hoodie, so make sure to have such things at hand whenever on the road or out to take care of an emergency breakdown.
Be conscious of the language used
It is quite easy to fight mental illness by refraining from using certain mental health conditions as adjectives. You can create awareness by telling people how changing such language could make an impact and help make the situation comfortable for mental illness patients.
Show compassion
If nothing else, you can fight the stigma by offering free hugs to mental illness patients, sit with them and talk about their daily lives. If possible, do this in public and become a role model for everyone. Since a lot of homeless people struggle with similar issues daily, such a simple act could easily lighten up their day and help with their condition.