Mental Illness: Misconceptions

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English Essay A mental illness is a condition which causes serious disorder in a person’s behaviour or thinking. People with mental health problems say that the social stigma attached to mental health and the discrimination they experience can make their difficulties worse and make it harder to recover. Along with the large amounts of people who are already affected by mental health problems more and more people will experience mental health problems at least once in their lives. Since mental health is drastically becoming one of the biggest issues that affect over 450 million people worldwide, it's also becoming one of the least talked about problems causing a massive stigma to surround it. I strongly believe more should be done to break …show more content…

In reality, with depression affecting 1 in 12 people in the whole population, and with anxiety affecting 40 million adults every year, most people who have mental health problems are normal everyday people. Family members, teachers, classmates. A common character trait that people with mental health problems are assumed to have, is a violent nature. Often this misconception is amplified by stories in the media. In reality, those living with mental illnesses are no doubt more susceptible to be victims of crime and discrimination. It's no secret that mental illnesses are one of the most misunderstood diseases, and are often perceived as a weakness. Of course, some mental illnesses have possible side effects such as violence, however, these are only the most serious diseases such as schizophrenia. When individuals have illnesses such as schizophrenia, they are often subject to the added scrutiny of some people labelling them offensive and derogatory names. Although most people with mental health problems recover fully or are able to live with them and manage them, this is not the case for everyone. With the current stigma around mental health, it makes talking about mental health and seeking help all the harder. If people don't seek help with mental health right away, the diseases can become deadly and consume

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