The problem is that when we think of
mental health problems, we often think
of the most serious cases: people hearing
voices; people seeing things that aren’t
really there; mad people murdering
other people. The reality is that very few
mentally ill people are dangerous and
a lot of mental problems are quite mild.
They are similar to flu: you feel bad for
a week or two and then you recover.
However, in the same way that you may
need medical attention to overcome flu,
so doctors can help cure mild depression
or someone’s anxiety about eating,
for example. In fact, people control or
completely recover from many of the
more serious mental health problems
through drugs, therapy or other support.
For example. the mathematician John
Nash, whose experiences were shown
in the film A Beautiful Mind, overcame
paranoid schizophrenia and went on to
win a Nobel Prize.
Unfortunately, because of negative
attitudes towards mental illnesses, many
people don’t ask for help and when they
do, they often get an unwanted reaction
such as ‘Don’t be silly!’ or ‘Cheer up!
Don’t be so sad.’ For men, the problem
may be even worse, because society
expects them to be less emotional. For
example, people say ‘boys don’t cry’ and
‘he’s a strong, silent type.’ Showing your
emotions means you are seen as weak.
Dealing with mental health problems
is always going to be difficult because
it’s hard to know what’s happening in
someone’s head, but science is making
progress. In fact, it’s becoming clear that
many mental illnesses have a physical
/ chemical cause in the brain and that
early treatment is important. What
we need to do now is to change our
attitudes. We can begin by recognising
that mental illness is a more natural part
of life than we think.