Why is there such a stigma around getting help?

1 in 8 – that is how many people around the world suffer from mental illness.

1 in 8. That represents nearly one billion men, women, and children struggling within themselves… fighting battles in their own minds.

1 in 8 also certainly, absolutely, positively represents men, women, and children that you know personally. They are your family members. Your friends. Your colleagues. Your neighbors. The wait staff at your favorite cafe. It may even be the person you see in the mirror.

So many people know this frustration. So many people feel the effects rippling throughout their lives.

So then, why is there such a stigma around getting help?

The way some of my patients approach me so hesitantly, so skeptically, it is almost like “psychiatry” is a dirty word. And often it is because the people in their lives have been discouraging them from getting help.

This boggles my mind!

Maybe because I am a psychiatrist, and maybe because I have seen the growth that can come through psychotherapy, I am biased…

But if your friend’s car was not in working order, you would tell them to take it to a mechanic. If your neighbor’s drains were stopped, you would tell them to call a plumber. If your spouse was ill, you would take them to a physician.

Why is there shame in seeking a solution for the mind’s ails?

When my patients come to me unsure, I simply remind them that they cannot do nothing and expect anything to change. If you do not get help, it will not get better.

Even so, this stigma is the starting point of some of my favorite stories of transformation.

One of my patients had made great strides. He had developed good habits physically and mentally, and now he was reaping the rewards – better problem-solving skills, emotional regulation, memory, mental acuity.

He told me,

“I never thought it was possible that psychiatry could help me this much. But I was so wrong.”

You see, here’s what happened: he took just one step.

He allowed a new, knowledgeable voice to enter his life – he opened his circle of influence to include a mental health professional. And then, he saw that there was help available. There was a better life for him to live.

The more he saw help available to him, the more he was encouraged to adopt healthier habits. The more he developed his healthier habits, the more he created a new circle of influence for himself. The more he surrounded himself with people who encouraged healthiness, the more help he saw available to him – and so on. It was a self-sustaining cycle of healing.

And when you consider all the areas of our lives that impact our mental health…

• Medicine
• Diet, exercise, and weight management
• Time management
• Exercise
• Sleep
• Hydration
• Social activity

…it is easy to see how starting with therapy led to small changes that add up quickly. By the time we talked, my patient was a completely different person.

So many of us suffer. But all of us can help.

Help yourself. What does your circle look like? Do they encourage you or do they discourage you? Are you surrounding yourself with people who make you more like you want to be?

Help others. Do you nurture their potential? Do you encourage them to take the steps they need to get better?

Small changes – steps – conversations – positive words – add up over time. 

Take the first step today. If you need help, reach out to me and I will happily join your circle.

Make today your masterpiece!

Florina