On
Monday, August 11, 2014, headlines everywhere were buzzing with the
heart-wrenching news of Hollywood icon Robin Williams’ self-inflicted death.
Many people questioned how someone so vibrant and energetic could make the
grave decision to end his own life when he had money, recognition, and success.
In the United States, society has constructed a stigma against mental illness
that frequently discourages affected people to seek the proper treatment they
need to live healthy lives.
Eighty
percent of Americans believe mental illness isn’t real; that it’s just weak
people wanting attention. Those who have never experienced a mental illness are
frequently known to say, “They just feel sorry for themselves” or “It’s all in
their head and they can change if they choose to.” However, when one has
bipolar disorder, there is a biochemical event that takes place. People that
suffer from bipolar disorder experience significant fluctuation with the
neurotransmitter dopamine. When someone with bipolar disorder is in a
depressive state, they exhibit traits like lethargy, sadness, anger,
nothingness, insomnia/hypersomnia, and weight gain/loss. When they are in a
manic episode, they feel empowered, energized, confident, and lose judgment.
There is literally a biological dysfunction that inhibits someone with bipolar
disorder from “snapping out of it”. Typically, people don’t enjoy not being
able to sleep for days at a time from depression or accruing thousand-dollar
debt by maxing out credit cards during a manic episode, therefore, their
behavior is not a choice. There is a comic on the internet that depicts
physical illness being treated the same way as mental illness: one cartoon
character has an amputated hand with blood and bone showing and the other is
saying, "You just need to change your frame of mind, then you'll feel
better.” The stigma that people with mental illness are simply weak is
erroneous, and mental illness should never be minimized.
When
society constantly claims having a mental illness is a defect or an
attention-getter, people with mental illnesses start believing it. People
frequently refuse medicine and psychological treatment because they feel like
getting help for their mental illness is embarrassing. If you were referred to
as crazy, loony, or nuts, you would do everything in your
power to prevent living up to these stereotypes. Lessening or criticizing
mental illness is not how society should react. In an interview with Rolling
Stone magazine, professional bicyclist Lance Armstrong described Robin
Williams’ depression by stating, “He was an incredible hider. It was defer,
deflect, and go back to that place of making people laugh.” What if someone had
sat down with Robin Williams, one of America’s greatest comedians, to tell him that
depression is the number-one affective disorder in the country, and even though
he had so many stressful factors in his life, there could be a way to manage
it? Society needs to be reassuring those with mental illnesses that it is
manageable in time and with the proper resources.
In order to stop the stigma of mental illness, people need to change their way
of thinking. If someone doesn’t understand a foreign concept, they are quick to
judge, discriminate, and mock. With education and awareness, mental illness
could be better understood and more people could see that it’s a daily struggle
to live with any disorder. The United States, as a society, should try to
eliminate words like “whack-job” and “crazy” when referring to those with
mental illnesses, because they are offensive terms towards a characteristic
that absolutely nobody can control.
Instead,
the United States should provide affordable and convenient healthcare. It’s
hard for those who live in rural areas to acquire the necessary resources if
they aren’t within a reasonable distance. Another huge dilemma in mental health
is the costliness of therapy and/or medication. The first step to help manage a
mental illness is to get the proper medication prescribed by a licensed
professional to accommodate the lacking, excessive, or unstable
neurotransmitters related to their illness. After the medication works its way
into a nervous system and performs its duties, it is sometimes necessary to see
a therapist for one to learn how to live and cope with their mental illness.
It is possible to have a mental illness and still live a happy and
healthy life if those affected with a mental illness seek the help they need.
As
former president Bill Clinton once said, “Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed
of, but stigma and bias shame us all.” Anyone from a billionaire to a homeless
person can become affected by a mental illness; it has no preference. It was
eye-opening to see someone as strong and vibrant as Robin Williams’ succumb to
his mental illness, because so many people are great at masking their pain.
Let’s prevent others’ mental illness to escalate to this point and create a
more positive awareness in order to eradicate the stigma of mental health.
You're only given a little spark of madness.
You mustn't lose it.
—Robin Williams
—Robin Williams
