Why Mental Health Awareness is Important
Mental health awareness is a crucial aspect of health and well-being. It helps us recognize the ways that mental illness impacts our lives, educates people about available services and advocates for those who need it.
Stigma, which is the idea that people who suffer from mental illness are crazy or violent, can be reduced by raising awareness.
Stigma
Stigma is a negative response to human differences (such as physical or mental health condition). It can be seen in direct actions such as a person making a negative remark about your illness or treatment, or more subtle actions such as avoiding you due to a belief that you might be unstable, violent or dangerous.
The effects of stigma can be long-lasting and may affect your quality of life, whether or not you have a diagnosed illness. It can also impact your social life, prevent you from seeking treatment and make it more difficult for others to understand and accept you.
Although the stigma associated with mental illness has come a long way, it is still widespread and pervasive. It is a result of fear, ignorance, misinformation and prejudice. It is a problem that can affect everyone, including those who have a diagnosed mental health condition and those who care for them. Increasing awareness about the nature of mental illness and its effects on people can help reduce stigma.
Unemployment
Unemployment is one of the main triggers for mental health declines. Losing a job can leave people feeling hopeless and empty.
It can also leave them feeling less productive and a contributing member of society. Until they are able to find a new job, these feelings may persist.
A number of studies have looked at the relationship between unemployment and mental health. Some have found that unemployment increases the risk of anxiety, mood disorders and suicidal behaviour.
Some studies found that the effect of unemployment on mental health was greater for younger people. These effects were generally not seen among people who were older or had less education.
Social Disparities
Disparities are differences between people in terms of race, class, gender, and other factors that are important for understanding the social determinants of health. In addition to the health status of individuals, these differences also impact their access to healthcare and other opportunities.
Several studies have demonstrated that reducing social disparities has positive effects on mental health outcomes [4, 6, 9]. These interventions target multiple levels of society, including the individual, family, systems (e.g., education), societal, and macro contexts.
Inequities are often rooted in racial discrimination or gender bias. They can also be linked to poverty and other socioeconomic factors. For example, individuals who live in extremely poor neighborhoods are more likely to have depression or other serious mental illnesses than people who live in low-poverty areas. Other factors that increase the risk of psychiatric illness include crime and violence, inadequate housing, and poor schooling. These inequities can be addressed by community-based interventions that build trust and safety, mitigate violence, and improve neighborhood deprivation.
Trauma
Trauma is a mental health condition that affects the mind, body and spirit. It can occur after a single event, such as a car crash or sexual assault, or as a result of long-term, repeated events, such as childhood abuse or domestic violence.
Traumatic experiences can lead to a range of physical and psychological symptoms, including PTSD. Common PTSD symptoms include intrusive distressing memories, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance of reminders of the trauma, difficulty with memory, persistent negative beliefs about oneself or others, self-blame for the trauma, and feelings of depression and irritability.
Treatment for PTSD includes talk therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), somatic therapies, and psychiatric medications. Psychotherapy approaches also involve identifying and managing triggers to help patients learn how to better manage their stress responses.
