Crazy, insane, idiot, mental, weak, dangerous. People with mental illnesses are drowned in these words everywhere they go. Mental illnesses have serious stigma, and it needs to perish.

Unlike other diseases, a mental illness isn’t always easy to spot, but once it is spotted, a cloud wraps around the affected person like it would around the sun. They aren’t viewed like a person, but merely by their illness; an illness in itself. More than 70.7 million people in the U.S. alone have a mental illness. These people cannot just be thrown aside or frowned upon. They make up a great part of our society.

Mental illnesses like schizophrenia have a horrible stigma attached to them. 1% of our population (2.5 million people) has this life changing illness. They are viewed as delinquents and harmful to our society. But why? The stereotype connected to their disease follows them around like a weight chained to their leg. It keeps them from advancing as much as they can. Unfortunately, as much as we want to stop these stereotypes, media and the tabloids make it hard for us to forget. Adam Lanza. Ring a bell? Yes, the first thing the world thinks of is ‘schizophrenic murderer.’ Because of 1, horrible mistake, stereotypes get floated right back to the surface. All schizophrenics are insane and have a lust to kill. They are murderers! But the truth is, they aren’t. We as a whole look out for people with a difference and pin it as a red flag. It is who we are in a society, but this should not be the case!

Another mental illness that comes with a “beautiful” stigma is anxiety, or generalized anxiety disorder. (G.A.D) Yes, anxiety is a diagnosed mental illness. People with G.A.D make up 8.1% of our population. That is 6.8 million people! G.A.D is a persistent and unreal worry about everyday activities. They are quite paranoid and expect the worse to come in any given scenario; Scenarios when there is no apparent concern. To be diagnosed with G.A.D, there must be an excessive worry for 6 months with multiple everyday problems. Most people in our society look down on these people. They call them weak and tell those diagnosed that if they really wanted to, they could get out of their anxiety. It is only the mindset right? Wrong. From all the stereotypes, those mentally diagnosed with G.A.D see themselves as a disgrace, and begin to define themselves as weak. Little do much people know that when a person has G.A.D, they feel like they have no control over their cycling worry; they don’t know how to stop it. Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with G.A.D every year! Many people with G.A.D don’t seek help because of the stigma floating over them everywhere they go, wondering when it will fall on them and topple them over.

There is also another type of anxiety disorder. It is called social anxiety disorder, otherwise known as S.A.D. People with this illness have an extreme fear of being judged by co-workers or piers on their performance or social situation. These people aren’t notorious shy, their fear of being badly judged affects their few social relationships which makes them feel alone, powerless, and even ashamed. The typical age of onset for S.A.D is 13 years old. Kids in schools across the country could be diagnosed with G.A.D. The horrible part is, because of their embarrassing stigma, 36 percent of people with S.A.D wait ten or more years to report their symptoms. Terrified of being embarrassed, the stigma interferes significantly with daily routines and other things like social and occupational interactions. This causes major problems like failure to complete school, get a job, or have a strong relationship with friends. 15 million adults have S.A.D which is 4 percent of the U.S. population. Should 15 million people feel alone and stigmatized every day because of something that is not within their control? How about 2 million? 1 million? 5? Anyone?

Before we make a judgment on anyone, we need to realize the harm we inflict upon people with mental illnesses or anyone at all. To solve the problem of mental illness intolerance and reappearing stigma, we have to make little steps at a time. I started off by educating myself, and to educate, is to save. So our next step will be to educate kids in our schools. October 6th to October 12th is mental illness awareness week. A speaker can come in to schools across our country to educate the young, mild, and older students of America. We can have events with those who have mental illnesses, and see how they aren’t so different from us. Getting people aware is the first step, getting them educated is the second.

Maybe then will all of the stereotypes and heavy weighted stigmas be lifted from their shoulders, and we will all be able to breathe the clean air again. No hate, no dirty words, no assumptions, just us, together, in one state, country, and world. Stigma free and respect filled.





Works Cited

"Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

Long, Liza. "I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother." Gawker. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.

"Social Anxiety Disorder | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Social Anxiety Disorder | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.