5 Things You Can Do To Help Change Mental Health Stigmas

Think Before You Speak

“I fight stigma by reminding people that their language matters. It is so easy to refrain from using mental health conditions as adjectives and in my experience, most people are willing to replace their usage of it with something else if I explain why their language is problematic.” – Helmi Henkin

Often we’ll hear that someone is feeling down, or experiencing anxiety and come back with ‘just think about others who have it worse than you’ and ‘you’ll get over it’. Although said with the best intentions (most of the time), these words can often make someone who is mentally ill just feel worse about themselves. Even though mental illnesses can be triggered by environmental causes, but these individuals are biologically predisposed to a certain disorder. No one chooses to be mentally ill, just like no one can change their disease with a click of a finger.  

Instead of saying things that may hinder someone’s recovery process, it may be more helpful to let them know you’re there to listen. Mental illness can be incredibly socially isolating and symptoms can be exacerbated by loneliness. Just ensuring your loved ones that you’re there for them if they need to chat through whatever they’re feeling is better than nothing.

Keep Educating Yourself

“I take every opportunity to educate people and share my personal story and struggles with mental illness. It doesn’t matter where I am, if I over-hear a conversation or a rude remark being made about mental illness, or anything regarding a similar subject, I always try to use that as a learning opportunity and gently intervene and kindly express how this makes me feel, and how we need to stop this because it only adds to the stigma.” – Sara Bean

Learning about mental health is essential to fighting against the stigma surrounding mental illness. Although having a day dedicated to raising awareness for mental health is amazing, the education should and needs to continue beyond this. Whether it’s you suffering from a mental illness or a loved one, mental health effects us all to some extent.

Luckily, there are millions of resources out there now that are easily digestible and really informative. Documentaries such as Thin (eating disorders) or Don’t Call Me Crazy (various illnesses) can be watched on Youtube or Netflix. TED talks can also be a powerful way to learn more about mental health. Guy Winch’s talk on loneliness should be on your watch list, as well as Andrew Solomon’s discussion on depression. Mind, the UK based charity is also an extremely useful source of information.

Check Your Biases

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all – Bill Clinton

Human beings are riddled with cognitive biases, prejudice and stereotypical thoughts; it’s just in our nature. But being aware of these biases is the first step in helping change mental health stigmas. Research studies have demonstrated that often people will say what they think but unconsciously, actually believe something else entirely. For example, in one study, people said they thought that those who suffer with mental illnesses are helpless but not blameworthy, but their implicit beliefs suggested they thought these people were helpless and blameworthy. So basically, if you found out that your colleague at work had bipolar disorder, you’d probably say that you know it’s not their fault and your opinion of them doesn’t change. But, you may also find yourself unconsciously turning down lunch invitations with them.

These implicit biases are caused by many factors that just aren’t in our control to change. But what we can change is our behaviour. Make a conscious effort to go to lunch with that colleague and fight against the implicit bias. In turn, you’ll help fight the mental health stigma.

Honesty Is The Best Policy

“I fight stigma by not having stigma for myself—not hiding from this world in shame, but being a productive member of society. I volunteer at church, have friends, and I’m a peer mentor and a mom. I take my treatment seriously. I’m purpose driven and want to show others they can live a meaningful life even while battling [mental illness].” – Jamie Brown

If you yourself are suffering with a mental illness, then don’t suffer in silence (as long as you feel safe doing so). Speaking out about your mental health can create a domino effect in allowing others to feel comfortable talking about themselves as well. Your mental illness does not make you weak, it is not your fault, and it is definitely okay to talk about it. Choose empowerment over shame because no one should dictate how you feel about your mental health.

Don’t Confuse Mental Illness with Religion

I’ve lost count throughout my life how many times I’ve been told that any doubts and difficulties I encounter are due to a weakness in my faith.              – Rabbil Sidkar

Relating mental health to the supernatural has been an issue since the early 1900s when people with psychological problems would be labelled as ‘possessed’ by the spirits. Unfortunately, these assumptions have somewhat been carried on by some communities. Many South Asian families will often cry ‘jinn’ any time someone experiences symptoms associated with mental illness such as hallucinations. In Islam, jinn are supernatural creatures that are made of smokeless fire and can harm humans. These beliefs can interfere in the treatment of mental illnesses as many may choose to visit their religious leader instead of a medical professional. However, mental illness is something that is caused by factors separate from a supernatural world and also have cures that are separate from the supernatural.

As Muslims we often get told that any issues or ailments we face can simply be cured by the power of prayer. Moreover, actively discouraging people from seeking treatment and to ‘leave it in Gods hands instead’ is incredibly reckless (the Quran does not discourage seeking mental health treatments). Albeit this is slowly changing as people get more comfortable talking about mental health, but we’ve still got a ways to go.

For more information on mental illness visit The Mental Health Foundation, Muslim Youth Helpline, Sakoon Counselling and Inspirited Minds.