Do you know someone with a mental health condition? According to The National Alliance of Mental Illness, one in five adults experience one. Mental health conditions deal with an imbalance in our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, affecting how we deal with day-to-day life. Although they are not visible ails like a broken knee or arm, they occur internally and can significantly impact our lives. Here at Parinda Parikh MD PC, we believe normalizing conversations about mental health and reducing the surrounding stigma is essential to a healthy life.
Types of stigmas surrounding mental health:
There are two types of stigmas surrounding mental health: Public and self-stigma. Stereotypes and prejudice feed these stigmas and affect our behavior when dealing with mental health concerns.
Media portrayal of mental health conditions has heavily influenced how the public views mental health. Often, individuals struggling with mental health conditions are maniacs, have a weak character, or are immature and need constant care. Additionally, the public usually links mental health conditions with drug addiction, prostitution, and criminality.
These public stigmas influence how individuals deal with their possible mental health conditions. Prejudice and discrimination on mental health is evident in many social structures, such as social services and the justice system. Due to this, individuals may fear that admitting to a mental health disorder may cause them to lose their jobs, friendships, or romantic partners. Thus, rather than admitting they have a disorder, they may blame themselves for incompetence or feel shameful about admitting weakness. As a result, they may withhold asking for help or avoid their situation altogether, which can lead to worse effects in the future.
Strategies for changing public stigma:
Changing negative outlooks on mental health public stigma begins with the individual. Introspection on what prejudices or assumptions may have cemented into your subconscious about mental health is essential to changing public stigma as a whole. At Parinda Parikh MD PC, we encourage you to think deeply about how you have dealt with situations surrounding mental health. Do you avoid or dismiss them? Do you turn to predetermined stereotypes to guide your behavior? These questions should encourage you to stop reporting and believing inaccurate portrayals of mental health conditions. We also encourage you to have conversations surrounding mental health with those around you. You may be surprised at what you learn.
Participating in educational programs that inform the public on the reality of mental health also effectively combats stigmas and misconceptions about mental health. It is essential to understand that mental health conditions have a plethora of causes, such as genetics, chemical imbalances, trauma, early childhood experiences, significant stress, etc. Identifying, understanding, and treating these conditions is the most efficient way to help individuals lead everyday, stable lives. Stigma can be further diminished when individuals encounter community members who lead stable lives and have mental health conditions.
Ketamine as an Antidepressant:
Destigmatizing mental health conditions can lead to breakthroughs in medication that can improve the lives of individuals who live with these conditions. Additionally, it can also aid with destigmatizing how the general public views drugs that are useful in treating these conditions. Recent clinical studies have revealed that Ketamine, an anesthetic used as an antidepressant, can help treat anxiety, depression, or addiction recovery. At Parinda Parikh MD PC, we are at the forefront of utilizing this innovative approach to mental health care.
