Do you know how common mental illness is in the USA? The numbers are shocking! Every 1 in 5 people in the country is experiencing mental illness. About 4% of US residents have severe mental conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.
But various stigma surrounding mental health worsens the situation. People’s limited understanding and personal beliefs often result in a negative perception of individuals with mental illnesses, hindering their access to support and compassion
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Mental illnesses are common in the younger population as well. More than 1 in 10 younger people in the USA have depression, which affects their social life, relationships, and work functions.
People with mental illnesses often face negative treatment and discrimination from friends, family, colleagues, media, and the community. These biases exacerbate their conditions and hinder their ability to lead fulfilling lives. Nine out of 10 people with mental illness say stigma and discrimination complicate their lives. Negative speech and stereotypes about mental conditions can lead to significant challenges for individuals, including:
- Maintaining a relationship
- Cope in at the workplace, school, and other places
- Finding it hard to rent a place or get a job
- Facing difficulties or include in the society
- Finding no interest in seeking treatment or help
- Encountering Bullying, physical violence, or harassment
- Feeling their condition worsening day by day
Steps to break the stigma and promote well-being
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Let’s explore the top 5 steps to promote well-being and mental health while breaking the stigma from your society:
1. Destigmatize mental health conditions
Educating people on mental health is a must to dispel the existence of myths and stereotypes in society. Ignorance and fear of the media’s stereotyped and biased portrayals often cause stigma in people. You must practice compassion and patience towards others and support people struggling with mental health.
Creating a social workplace and organizational environment where everyone is treated equally and faces no discrimination is crucial. You can also take action and encourage others to join in open discussions about mental health problems, which creates societal awareness.
2. Support individuals with mental health challenges
Support systems are crucial for individuals facing mental health challenges. Demonstrating empathy and understanding to those facing mental health challenges helps create a sense of solidarity, reminding them they are not alone in their journey.
Some simple activities like cooking together, walking, or watching a movie can allow you the space to talk. Strike a balance by showing compassion while treating them with respect and inclusivity as before because a sudden change in your behavior might make them uncomfortable.
3. Foster open conversations in workplace
Encouraging open conversations within the workplace reduces the stigma while creating a helpful, productive, and healthy environment for employees. Leaders of an organization must undergo training that helps them build a positive attitude regarding mental health. When appropriately trained, team leaders can promote mental health in their team members.
Team leaders must offer all employees a space to express their concerns and discuss work pressure. When organization leaders talk more about mental health, it normalizes the topic and reduces its stigma. Only discussions and open conversation are not enough; companies must provide productive tools, platforms, and resources so that employees can reduce stress and work more efficiently while handling their challenges better.
4. Integrate mental health into healthcare systems
If mental health services are provided with health care services, it improves access to mental health care. Healthcare providers must identify the current system’s shortcomings and encourage providing mental health care.
Healthcare facilities should look for mental disorder symptoms and offer treatment at the primary level, which is uncommon today. In any way, integrating mental health care with traditional medical services can improve outcomes and provide better care to every individual.
5. Promote mental health awareness
Awareness is a powerful tool to combat stigma. This is an excellent way to provide practical, real-life insights to those who seek support. While organizing seminars, campaigns, and workshops to promote well-being, we should also encourage people who successfully overcame their mental health issues.
We can create a better community where everyone can live happily by addressing mental health issues, offering care and support, and dispelling stigma. Such an environment can help individuals battle their challenges instead of worsening their situation.
Photo: franckreporter, Getty Images
Mike Szczesny is the owner and vice president of EDCO Awards & Specialties, a dedicated awards company and supplier of employee recognition products, branded merchandise and athletic awards. Szczesny takes pride in EDCO's ability to help companies go the extra mile in expressing gratitude and appreciation to their employees.
