I don’t know of anyone under the sun that would be glad to have an illness that affects their quality of life.
Many people wear their physical illness, whereas it is noticeable. Others suffer in silence as the illness they have affects them in ways that many don’t understand.
The sad fact is, many don’t even know what is wrong with them until they receive a diagnosis, possibly after years of exhibiting strange behaviour.
Last week was Mental Illness Awareness Week and the hope is that there should be no stigma attached to the illness.
Mental illness is a health condition that changes a person’s thinking, feelings, or behaviour (or all three) and that causes the person distress and difficulty in functioning. Although scientists don’t know exactly the cause of mental illnesses, they know that genetic, environmental and social factors interact to influence whether someone becomes mentally ill.
People are eager to admit that they have something…high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer or whatever, but not too many individuals are eager to mention that they are plagued with a mental illness. Staggering statistics claim that 75,100 residents in Saskatchewan report that they have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Scientists estimate that one of every four people is affected by mental illness either directly or indirectly.
Unfortunately, society has and somewhat still does treat people with mental illness like they have the plague. The stigma attached to mental illness may be lessening, but not to the extent it should be. I can only imagine the pain and anguish mental illness causes in an individual’s life; the sad thing is, we just can’t understand it because we aren’t living in their head…and I guess if we were to examine our lives with a fine tooth comb, we would realize that we probably have exhibited a mental illness behaviour of one kind or another sometime during our lifetime.
Have you ever interacted with someone and then after-the-fact said, “Boy, are they ever strange?” I have and then I think, “I am sure that there are some that probably think I am strange, too!” With a little thought, I affirm, “You’re ok and I’m ok!” realizing we are all humans with our own individuality, and we all have issues, whatever they might be.
My hope is that people would be more compassionate to those exhibiting behaviours we don’t understand, possibly a mental illness, and maybe even offer help or support.
