Introduction
Though the science has advanced and the civilization has improved among communities, awareness regarding mental illness is still in question. Before diving into the attitude and misconceptions of people about mental illnesses, it is important to brief what is mental illness. A mentally healthy person might witness a significant change in his/her thinking, memory, perception, feelings and the ability to judge things in a way acceptable by others. Consequently, it results in the altered patterns of speech, socialization and their behaviors. These factors in turn trigger deviation of one`s personality, attitude, confidence and other higher mental functions such as rationalization, attention, concentration and decision making. Furthermore, changes in behavior lead to a profound distress and suffering which can subject the individual as well as the whole family and community into a crisis situation.
Effects of mental illness
If the mental distress persist , it might disturb the day-to-day activities of the person, relationship, orientation, self-esteem. A prolonged condition might significantly hit on the social and vocational abilities of an individual. However, these are reversible and can be effectively managed with the appropriate counselling, psychotherapy and medicines ; above all, beliefs and attitudes of the people towards mental illness might seriously impact the outcome of illness. This article is an effort to delineate the set of superstition, ignorance and fear that the society has on psychiatric disorders.
Misconceptions about mental illness
Despite the passage of time and advancement in the science that lead to the clear understanding of people about mental illness, there seems to be multitude of false ideas, beliefs, and concepts about the phenomenon. Some of the ways which people covertly express the misconceptions about mental illnesses are explained below:
- Mental illness is caused by an invisible supernatural power as a consequence of previous life`s karmas or deeds. In addition, people judge the condition as, the result of a curse or possession by an evil spirit. This is especially true in those communities who strongly believe godly practices. Many people are reluctant to accept the mental illness as a disease, instead they conclude it as a possession by spirits because of his /her past sins or misdeeds .
- Mentally sick people exhibit a bizarre behavior; but in reality it is not always true .Instead, the society, people and caretakers often posturized this as a weird topic. General public are of the opinion that people with mental illnesses show aggression characterized by violent speech, twisting of hands, scary facial expressions etc.
- Many of us are in a view that people suffering from mental illness are dangerous as they often tend to hurt others or even they kill the innocent people but it is an outdated hypothesis.
- A lot of people are of the idea that, mental illness is something to be ashamed, stigmatic and a state of humiliation. However, in the modern times, this tendency is its slowly being vanished.
- We often perceive, the idea that people suffering from disturbed mind are unsympathetic and cruel and this is the reason why a lot of people hide mental illness until it enters into a chronic state requiring prolonged hospitalization. Not only that, many families have deliberately hiding the scene as they feel ashamed of a family member being a victim of mental illness.
- One the firm, fixed and false belief about mental illness is that it is not curable thus, society object to have a normal relationship with those people suffering from a known disease . Nevertheless, cure is possible in many cases but it is only possible with the acceptance and cooperation of the victim and family members.
- Many feel that mental illness is contagious and it can pass-on from one person to another . In reality it is not however, it has a genetic tendency allowing gene flow through subsequent It is important to acknowledge the fact that, is not a rule that children of a mentally ill person should definitely be a victim.
- In some communities , people often are the thinking that marriage can cure mental illness but it is unscientific as we can observe that sometimes it can get worse after marriage .Perhaps, with the comprehensive therapeutic approach , one can lead a harmonious family life.
- One of the very common myth that individuals have is that mental health care centers are the dangerous places as they lockdown and harass the victims and this is the reason people hesitate to take their relatives to mental hospitals for treatment because of fear.
Societal attitude toward the mentally ill persons
This is a subjective phenomenon as each has their own belief with regard to the nature of mental illness and the behavior of sufferers. In general, people often interpret the situation by expressing a state of denial, isolation and rejection. Many religistic and cultural beliefs further escalate the issue. Furthermore, there is also a lack of understanding about the real nature of mental illness leading to a state of rejection of both the patients and the family. Mentally sick individuals are viewed as people with least to no capacity for understanding. But, it is not always true except for some of the serious illnesses such as schizophrenia. In many cases, from the moment diagnosis is confirmed, family tend to relocate the victim to an isolation unit far away from their residence which can worsen the situation rather than leading to a positive outcome.
Conclusion
A broader perception of the magnitude and nature of problem determines the treatment and outcome of illness. Therefore, it is important to reckon the individual situation and respect his values and personal beliefs . This can help in developing a positive mindset about himself. People and health care teams should organize campaigns to educate the public about the expectations and acceptable behaviors that influence on the outcome of illness. All in all, the stigma of mental illness can only be erased with a comprehensive approach towards dos and don’ts while the individual and families are in the state of burden due to mental illness.
