Mental Health Support Thread
 

Many of us suffered mental illnesses at one point or more in our lives. Let's support those here who needs it.

I believe that support and empathy for those with mental health issues have faltered because they can't be more objectively identified as is the case with pure medical issues. The other side of some mental health issues is that the resultant observable behaviors are often off-putting to John Q. Public. I say this as someone with prior experience that as a result, mental health issues are either invisible, off-putting or both. This is tragic because mental health issues cause pain and death to those who suffer from them and much collateral damage to those around them. Just because you can't measure and observe mental health issues doesn't mean they don't exist...

Actually, they can be - though I will confess that the way individuals' minds function are often the result of learned behavior and not from neurochemical imbalances. Mental disabilities and diseases are both diagnosed here in the US using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) manual which is essentially a checklist of symptoms.

The biggest obstacle to getting diagnosed however is the stigma, so many people avoid getting help because they'll be ridiculed, belittled or made to feel weak. Many are also worried that if their employers find that they are taking medication or attending therapy that it will negatively impact their job performance and emotional stability under stress.

Hence my use of the term "stigma" and pointing out that there is a Mental Health Awareness Month every May. There's also an Autism Awareness Month in the preceding month of April. There is a lot of ignorance out there that still likes to poke fun at the mentally ill and disabled - particularly the latter; the former are actually feared by the general population and ridiculed as a coping mechanism.

The response has not been positive IMO and the DSM has either broadened the parameters to inflate the number of cases or change the terminology to something that's less "offensive" to those bearing the labels of their diagnoses (and thereby further trivializing these diagnoses by making them seem to be mere adjustments for the sake of political correctness.)

Then there's the blurred line between mental illness and mental disability. To the ignorant, they are one and the same. They are not, but the mentally disabled can also suffer from mental illness which would seem more profound because they lack the coping mechanisms because of their disability.

I've worked in residential mental health facilities and been part of treatment teams and saw how psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers and psychiatric nurses used DSM to develop diagnoses. Since mental health diagnoses are a function of observable behaviors and reported symptoms, I believe that such diagnoses are perceived by some in a much different way than the results of an MRI, EKG, blood test, CAT scan or the like. DSM has been very much a work in progress and subject to change throughout its existence. As an example, look at the varied ways that the Diagnostic Manual has addressed autism in 50 years. I tend to think behaviorally in terms of shaping behavior but I also believe very strongly from my own experience that neurochemical imbalances can play a critical role in mental health...

I was in a IRTS facility twice in my life and lived in a AFC twice in my life as well now.

That gives you a very unique perspective. I think it's important to keep in mind that many of us have various mental health issues to a greater or lesser extent; but the important thing is not necessarily the mere existence of those issues but the extent to which those issues affect daily functioning. As I gathered professional experience I began to realize that often the only difference between us (staff) and them (patients) was the keys that we're given that allow us to unlock doors and leave.