Could the real mental health problem please stand up?

This is the part where things get tricky and the part where things get confronting because this is the part where us as a society, we as a community and you as an individual take responsibility for the mental health problems that we have. The truth of the matter is that people, our people, our friends, our family and our loved ones are suffering horrendously from mental illness because of the way that we treat them. Society as a whole is responsible, and it's not until we reach that realisation that we will ever see the solution.

The problem is from the ground up and the top down. It lies with the psychiatrists, the social workers, the media, the literature and the people. There is a gap the size of the grand canyon between the way we treat other sick people in the community and the way that we treat those labelled mentally ill.

Imagine, if the oncologist of the world, the people that deal with cancer and the community adopted the attitude and the strategies that we employ to deal with mental illness. This attitude would actually make more sense when applied to the treatment of cancer because there is no cure for cancer.

A young man enters the doctors surgery and is told that he has cancer. This is followed by, well there is no cure for cancer therefore don't make any plans for the future because you are never going to achieve the things that you had hoped. Here is some medication that you will have to take for the rest of you life and here is a book outlining how people with cancer behave. You can't tell anyone because society will shun you and you must deal with this alone.

Imagine how many more cancer related deaths there would be, and the outrage in the community, if that was the attitude that we adopted.

Could the real mental health problem please stand up.

Now imagine, a young man goes into a doctors office and is told he has schizophrenia. This is followed by, well there is no cure for schizophrenia therefore don't make any plans for the future because you are never going to achieve the things that you had hoped. Here is some medication that you will have to take for the rest of you life and here is a book about how people with schizophrenia behave. You can't tell anyone because society will shun you and you must deal with alone.

This happens every time someone is diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, the ridiculous aspect of all of this is that there is medication to treat schizophrenia, schizophrenia is not terminal, schizophrenia can be managed and you can recover.

So, could the real mental health problem please stand up.

Lets flip this analogy one more time. Imagine if the psychiatrists of the world, the mental health professionals and the community adopted the attitude and the strategies that the oncologists and the people that deal with cancer employ. When the young man is diagnosed with schizophrenia he is told that the illness can be beaten, he is told that with positive lifestyle changes, treatment and hard work he will recover from the illness and continue to live his life. He is told that this journey is going to be tough and he'll have to fight but he can beat this disease. He receives overwhelming sympathy and admiration from those around him because he can openly and honestly seek support, encouragement and understanding from his community, employer, friends and family. Most importantly, he is given the option and the belief that he can fight for his life and beat this illness.

Once more, could the real mental health problem please stand up.

Mental illness is treatable, it is curable and it can affect anyone. It is like any other illness and there is no shame in having it. The real shame should be felt by our society because through our prejudice, our society denies people their right to the pursuit of happiness. Fear and misunderstanding, that is fostered and promoted through the media, leads to a prejudice that makes those with mental illness feel ashamed for having a disease. We make them afraid to talk about their illness and even worse they are denied the treatment and support they require to recover from a treatable and curable disease.

One last time, could the real mental health problem please stand up.

This is the real mental health problem, and the real tragedy is how easily this problem can be fixed. Education through faces, names and personalities can break the stereotypes and the stigma associated with mental illness. This will allow the support networks to be built, it will allow the education networks to be developed and it will present the hope and support that people need to recover.

The symptom of our problem is people suffering severely from mental illness, but the cause of this problem is our attitude. In most problems that the community tackles, the symptoms are easier to treat than the cause. However, this problem is the exception because treating the cause is a simple as getting to know someone with a mental illness. Treating the cause is as simple as learning about mental illness and gaining a better understanding of what it is and what it's like to live with it. Treating the cause does not need medication, it does not need hospitals and it does need doctors, all it needs is a change in attitude.

The real mental health problem should now be standing and the real mental health problem should now be clear. By the real mental health problem standing up and the real mental health problem becoming clear, the real solution should now be one big step closer.

Is real mental health problem now clear?

but more importantly,

Can you see the real solution?