What is mental health awareness? Why it is important?

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Mental health has been considered a taboo in society to talk about and people having any of the mental disorders are treated as a deplorable person. The US is one of the countries where mental health issues have been long established stigmas, regardless of the fact that one-in-five US adult suffers from the mental health issue in their lifespan, and the people connected with them also get affected in this whole affair. It is one of the prominent reasons to raise mental health awareness, and it is our maturity to give assistance to patients who are suffering and trying to get healed from mental health conditions.

It is very important to understand that our mental health is as important as our physical health. It is necessary to make sure that our mind is fit and strong as much as we try to keep our bodies fit. However, most of us are clueless and not able to understand how to spread awareness about mental health conditions and how to identify who is experiencing it. We are listing down some of the importance of mental health awareness:

Many people are not able to access mental health services because of the lack of information. They were not aware of what is mental health, how it can be identified and how to get its treatment. It cannot be treated just because you desire one, treatment is mandatory. In numerous cases, people may not approach the treatment because of the cultural or language impediment.
Awareness also exterminates stigma for people suffering from it. Au courant of the limitations and strengths helps in getting rid of the stigma. Stigma makes mentally ill people feel it as a disgrace or shame.
Awareness leads to the flow of attention which results in the improvement and changes for mentally ill people. It can have an impact on policies, research, and treatment. It also makes people accept it as normally as other diseases and not as a stigma or something of a shame.
Many people have a misconception about mental illness. Some people believe that it is just an easy way for people who are lazy and they are making it up. There are also some beliefs by some people that mental illness is nothing but it is just people who are crazy, possessed by some demons and are violent and are perilous for society. These are some common descriptions attached to these people due to the lack of awareness.
It increases the chances of early intercession which can help in swift recovery. It also helps to detach the negative adjectives that have been associated to describe such people.
With the spreading of awareness, it can now be seen as an illness rather than stigma which can be cured by treatment and decrease the chances of people being isolated and increases their chances of getting acceptance from society.

What can you do to help people suffering from mental illness?

People suffering from mental illness are as same as other people who are not suffering from a mental disorder and needs help and we should be the ones taking care of them. Here are certain persuasive ways how we can help such people:

Showing high regard and acceptance do away with the cogent barrier to favorable coping with their illness. People’s behavior towards you as an individual and not treating you differently because of your illness creates a huge difference in the life and perception of people who are suffering from mental health.
Advocating within our circles of influence makes sure that there is no discrimination with them and ensures they have the same rights and opportunities as all other members of the society whether it is a school, community, etc.
Erudition more about mental health allows us to stand by those who are suffering in our families and communities. It also motivates us to help them in getting recovered fastly.

Here are a few pieces of research by the “National Alliance on Mental Illness” which provides us with the statistics related to the people suffering from mental illness.

There are some statistics according to the types of mental illness. Annual prevalence among U.S. adults:

1. Major Depressive Episode- 7.2% (17.7 million people)
2. Schizophrenia: <1% (estimated 1.5 million people)
3. Bipolar Disorder: 2.8% (estimated 7 million people)
4. Anxiety Disorders: 19.1% (estimated 48 million people)
5. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: 3.6% (estimated 9 million people)
6. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: 1.2% (estimated 3 million people)
7. Borderline Personality Disorder: 1.4% (estimated 3.5 million people)

Some common statistics related to mental illness:

1. 1 in 5 U.S. adults experiences mental illness each year.
2. 1 in 25 U.S. adults experiences serious mental illness each year.
3. 1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year.
4. 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24.
5. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-34.

Millions of people in the U.S suffer from mental illness every year. It is vital to understand how common mental illness is so that the physical, social and financial impact can be analyzed. It is also important to be attentive about these numbers as it is a powerful tool for increasing public awareness, removing the stigmas and proponent for better health care.

Conclusion: Mental illness is a physical malady of the brain that causes disruption in thinking, way of acting, energy or feeling that makes it arduous to carry on with the standard demands of life. Mental health awareness is essential but what is more prominent is to actually act for people with such issues and seek help. Awareness is meaningless if there is no help available to them. Spreading awareness is just an initial stage it requires a lot of work towards it and we should be aware of that too.