Be prepared, heres a long one! As someone who was diagnosed with depression at age 4, I have a lot to say on the subject of mental illness. I saw a post making a correlation between the rising lack of morality & spiritually and the rise in depression. Here is my response: I think maybe depression is on the rise because its just being recognized for what it is now. I have a strong faith background and a very strong belief in God. And depression still found me. Praying for it to go away doesnt help. Praying for God to give me the strength and courage to seek help and keep up with treatment does. Depression is a formidable foe. Even though I am very well educated and know what my medications and therapy sessions do to help me manage my symptoms, depression has gotten me to stop cold turkey sometimes. Luckily God has given me the strength to overcome and go back to keeping up my treatment. I like to compare the stigma and treatment options for mental illnesses to that of HIV/AIDS. When it was first being diagnosed and spoken about, not much was known by the doctors and the public. With time and awareness the stigma has so greatly diminished that it is almost non existent. While there is no cure, treatment for the symptoms had vastly improved the quality and length of life for those who suffer. The only difference I see between these two is how one contracts the illness. (Of course these two are majorly different illnesses, but for the sake of my argument Im focusing on the issues associated with the stigmas surrounding these two and how things have changed.) Also, as awareness was raised for HIV/AIDS, treatment options for better because it was being acknowledged publicly as a terrible debilitating disease that takes entirely too many lives. This, I feel, is what needs to happen with mental illnesses. *Raise awareness in the public spectrum.* Make quilts, have rallies, speak to those with power (however arbitrary that power is), donate to research! These actions will help de-stigmatize mental illness. Mental illness has also been compared to diabetes and cancer. Like those, as our understanding of the diseases improves, so do treatment options! The misunderstandings of what mental illness is and how it works are the cause of stigma and prejudice. I need my medications just as much as someone with HIV/AIDS, diabetes, or cancer. Without them I could very easily die. Some of the stigmatic statements heard with regard to mental illness are ridiculous! You would never tell someone with diabetes that they can get rid of it by praying it away. Youd never tell a cancer patient to suck it up, its not that bad. Youd never tell someone with HIV/AIDS that they only have it because they dont want to be without it enough. Ignorance is no longer a valid excuse. I could go on for days, but I figured Id give you a little look at what its like. Obviously I am very passionate about mental illness awareness. Especially as a young voter, I want to see change for this, for this to be a topic of political debate. I want to see those in the public eye stand up and say enough is enough, weve lost too many lives to this, its time to change it! Okay, now Im done ... for now. :)
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 17:37:33 +0000
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