There are many myths regarding mental illness that are baseless. Having a clear knowledge about mental illnesses can help you get the proper treatment or take better care of a loved one with mental health issues. Mental health issues do not necessarily mean that the sufferer is crazy. There is hope for every mental patient of getting better and leading a normal life like the rest of us. All they need is proper treatment, support and care to heal.
Some mental illnesses are incurable but the conditions can be improved, so that the patients are capable of taking care of themselves in a much better way. In the following, we have discussed some of the biggest mental health myths.
Some consider mental illnesses are not ‘real’ diseases:
Many misconceptions stem from lack of knowledge. Many people think that mental illness is just a state where the patient is crazy. They do not believe that like other diseases such as cancer and tumors, mental disorders are also treatable diseases. This is definitely a wrong conception that needs to be changed. Every mental disorder has some sort of psychiatric treatment. The brain is the most vital and complicated part of our body. Treating the brain is more difficult than treating the heart or liver.
Schizophrenics are fierce and violent in nature:
Another very common misconception is that the schizophrenic patients are all very violent and volatile. Do not take the portrayal of schizophrenic patients in movies for granted. They are ill people who often become the victim of violence. They are unable to think normally but most of the times such persons are timid and harmless.
Children never suffer from depression:
Just like the grownups, children too can become depressed. Some people fail to understand that even children may need counseling and medical help for severe chronic depression. Children can suffer from different mental disorders like anxiety disorder, eating disorder and behavioral problems.
Mental patients should stay in asylums:
Just as general treatment is possible without admitting a patient to the emergency ward, mental patients can also be treated at home. Not all mental patients need to be admitted in an asylum. Due to the negative portrayal of mentally ill people, such as violent, abusive and eager to kill their contemporaries, a misconception has grown that every mentally ill individual should be locked up in a padded room.
Summary:
Mentally ill people need proper treatments and lots of support to overcome their problems. Mental disorders are just like physical disorders. Psychiatrists and psychologists can diagnose their illness and treat them.