Altering attitude to fight stigma in mental illness

Photo: DR MD RAJIB HOSSAIN

Mental illness can be called the invisible illness. Often, the only way to know whether someone received a diagnosis with a mental illness is if they tell you. Having someone in the family mentally sick or being oneself with any psychiatric disorder is still stigmatised.
Getting around a psychiatric hospital for any reason is considered very disgraceful in the society. Whenever we come to know a person having psychiatric disorder we just discriminate the person from the rest; we try to find his drawback, we try to make our own conclusion about the family having someone mentally ill. For someone with a mental illness, the consequences of stigma can be devastating. Stigma include trying to pretend nothing is wrong thus refusal to seek treatment, rejection by family and friends, difficulty finding housing and earning, being subjected to physical violence or harassment and inadequate health service coverage.
We can battle stigma when we know the myths about mental illness. Like a mentally ill person will remain so for the rest of his life, mentally ill people should never get married as they will bring same unfortunate kids with mental problems; it is a family disorder so never get involved in any relationship with this sort of family.
Like all other diseases mental illness can be due to genetic inheritance along with environmental stress factors. It is about the imbalance of neuro-chemicals in the brain. For someone with a mental illness these imbalance become persistent and overwhelming. They may not cope with such stresses. Sometimes counselling works to gain the self esteem, sometimes medication is required.
People with mental health problems often find it hard to tell others about their problem, because they fear their reaction. Psychiatric patients are four times more likely than the average not to have a close friend. So, do not speak to yourself only. Speak out to win the battle against the stigma.

The writer is a Medical Officer, Department of Psychiatry, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). Email: [email protected]