Common Misconceptions Surrounding Mental Health

Mental health is mostly mischaracterized among many and some are too uneducated or disinterested in learning more about mental health. With this article, I hope to educate you on the misconceptions surrounding mental health and why they’re untrue. 

The first one is “mental health is the same as a mental illness.” Although they’re related, they are no way the same thing. While mental health refers to an individual's state of emotional well-being, mental illness is a condition diagnosed by a health-care professional. This involves massive changes in mood, behaviors, and emotion. Some examples of mental illnesses are bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety.

The next misconception is that “it’s obvious when someone has a mental illness since they’re often violent.” Mental illnesses can be almost invisible since we don’t know what everyone is going through. Many people like hiding their symptoms due to the fact that they don’t want to be pointed out or treated differently. And although many people who are violent may have some mental illnesses, that doesn’t mean that every person with a mental illness is violent. This is another reason as to why people hide their illness since they don’t want people thinking that they’re violent and that they should stay away from them because they’re a “crazy person.”

Another misconception is that “mental illness can only be treated with medication and that some people are “immune” to mental illness.” Although medication is a helpful tool for managing illness and symptoms, it’s not one of the only ways to be treated. Simply enjoying nature, having a walk, or reading a book can be helpful to some that have depression or anxiety. One thing to note is that people are prone to mental illness. Mental illnesses are not diseases and anybody can have an underlying mental illness they’re not aware of.

I hope this article was able to clear the air about the myths and mischaracterization of some of these misconceptions. Remember that there is nothing to be ashamed of if you do have a mental illness. With seeking the right type of professional health, you’re able to uplift yourself to becoming more healthier and more positive.