One Psychologist’s Fight To Destigmatize Mental Illness
We live in a world where going to a therapist often feels more shameful than going to see your dentist or internist. Many people still feel embarrassed and ashamed about needing help for their anxiety or depression, while they would not have those feelings if treating a cancerous growth or heart disease.
Although this stigma is slowly changing, our society still holds many misconceptions about what it means to have a mental illness. And these misconceptions or a lack of accurate information can interfere with people getting the help they need. Individuals who suffer from mental illness are not lazy, deranged, weak, or whining for attention. In fact, they are no more likely to have negative personality traits than people who don’t suffer from this type of disease. Mental health disorders are relatively common in the United States and according to some statistics 25% of the...