Mental Illness an invisible disability

[BluMac81]

I was thinking about this today while shopping at a department store, some person in a wheelchair blocked my way in an aisle (not a big deal by the way) but it got me thinking... think of what coinciding perks those with visible physical ailments have versus those who have invisible mental illnesses.

I will not deny that a physical ailment such as diabetes or cancer isn't painful, but I will say that the mental anguish experienced in many extreme cases of mental illness is just as bad an experience to live with, if not worse.

But you don't see it. We look like normal people, we people with severe anxiety, depression, and other such mental disorders. And as a culture that primarily believes only in what it see's, a person could walk by two people, a crippled person in a wheelchair, and a normal looking person, and feel compassion for the one in the wheelchair, offering a helping hand and what not, when in reality that person with the mental illness is suffering just as much.

I'm not asking for government hand outs, handicap placards, or what have you, but a recogition that I am ill, and need help just as the person in the wheelchair does. For people with mental disorders like us, something as simple as a smile, a 'how are you doin today?', or a 'do you need any help?' would suffice.

But it remains mostly an invisible disease, as most still fill shame for their mental disorder, and hide behind a smile to 'fit in' to normal society.

This could be a plausible cause of self-injury (especially among teens), as they feel they need to show the world that they are not okay, that they are sick, and that they need help. It shouldn't need to come to this.

So I ask you, how many people have you passed by today do you think were smiling on the outside and crying/broken/depressed/paniced on the inside?

This is the degree of the effect the mental health stigma has affected our society, and it remains...an invisible disability.

 

[Retired]

Most people with many mental illnesses outwardly appear the same as the general population, except for behavioural traits that might set them off as appearing somewhat bizarre.

The stigma keeps many people with mental illness from asking for assitance from employers or government agencies, in jurisdictions where such help is available.

People who are employed and who happen to have health insurance coverage can often get disability salary replacement while they are being treated, but those who don't have such insurance can experience more difficulty.

Essentially mental illness can change "who you are" resulting in problems with established relationships.

As I see it, one possible answer is continuing to create awareness among the general population about the forms of mental illness in an effort to remove the stigma of the illness.

What measure would you see as helpful, Blumac, in addressing mental illness as a disability?

 

[Halo]

As I see it, one possible answer is continuing to create awareness among the general population about the forms of mental illness in an effort to remove the stigma of the illness.

:agree:

 

[Lana]

You need to be careful here, BluMac. I'm willing to bet that if you spoke to the persons with visible disability, they'd probably feel that invisible disability is a perk. Smiling while feeling sad inside is not always a bad thing....sometimes, an outward smile invites another, and another, and pretty soon, sadness is replaced with warmth and possible excitement for having met someone new. Life, with or without disabilities, is not that bleak and everyone has to work at it...no exceptions.

 

[Daniel E.]

BTW:

When Sean Miller was 14, a virus left him paralyzed for about a year. Depression, he says, was much worse.

“I would have taken paralysis any day over depression."

A cure for depression? | Health Fitness | Reuters

 

[prayerbear]

:lightbulb:I agree that people with visible disabilities receive more sympathy and are not judged anything like mental disabilities. When I have tried to explain OCD, they call it ODC and don't even know what it is.This is nothing that can be helped. They act like it's a weakness or character default!I just don't tell them and they can't misjudge!


prayerbear

 

[Into The Light]

i think people with visible disabilities more than likely feel discriminated against at times too though. or feel like a charity case.

what about those situations where people don't know what to say to someone they know is disabled or struck by cancer? that hurts those people too.

and would we really want the world to know about our pain just by looking at us?

i do understand where you are coming from blumac. like you said, an extra kind word when you need it is what you wish you could have from people. makes sense

 

[Lana]

There are many other diseases that are invisible to the naked public eye:

• fibromyalgia -- often not even considered a disease though the sufferer is in constant debilitating pain
• migraines -- enormous statistics
• menstrual cramps -- who are often told it's in their head or if they could just take a pill it'll pass

Having said that, these people also suffer from depression as well as physical pain, and are often invalidated by "real" sad stories, or by "real" pain sufferers, or "real" illnesses like cancer or what not. These people also suffer a great deal of anxiety because often, they're dismissed as not really sick, or are looked upon as complainers, attention seekers, and even fakers. Bottom line, what we should all hope and wish and work towards is being well, being happy, being healthy and not spending too much time in the "it would be better if I had this because then I'd get recognition" I'm sorry but that's just nonsense and does absolutely nothing but puts a divide between mentally ill and those that suffer from physical ailments. It's the classical "us vs them" thinking and I fee that it's wrong. How can anyone in their right mind say that it would be better to be in a wheel chair then be depressed? Do you really think that someone in a chair is jolly and happy and perky because they don't have a mental illness? If you do, visit your local spinal rehab hospital and ask them about suicide statistics and age group of patients that live there or their mortality rate. I am willing to bet that all of the sudden, depression that IS treatable will seem like a walk in a park. Recognize that!

It sucks to be sick. Period. No matter what the illness is.

 

[Mari]

But it remains mostly an invisible disease, as most still fill shame for their mental disorder, and hide behind a smile to 'fit in' to normal society.

My own experience would cause me to agree with that statement. Physical diseases can also produce unique prejudice and overall people need to be better informed. Sometimes I find articles and news reports on obtaining perfect health annoying. If we just do everything right - sleep, eat the right foods, avoid alcohol, exercise, etc. we will all be in perfect health. Not that I disagree but I just find it annoying because it does not always work like that. We can do our best but no-one should be penalized for not being perfect. Perfect body, perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect personality. Well, you can tell by my picture that is not me. :hair: Mari

 

[Daniel E.]

And while we are meditating on the plight of others:

It is among the most severe types of pain known to humanity. The most common forms of TN affect 1 in 15,000 to 20,000, but 1 in 5,000 are thought to suffer from some type of facial pain.

Trigeminal neuralgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But regarding the stigma of mental illness, I still keep thinking back to this statistic:

42 per cent said they would no longer socialize with a friend diagnosed with a mental illness.

Canadians' Attitudes Toward Mental Illness Stigma - Psychlinks Psychology Self-Help & Mental Health Support Forum

 

[Retired]

When you get right down to it, doesn't it seem that society has a tendency to marginalize anyone who appears to be different from their particular mainstream?

It could be based on a visible disability, bizarre behaviour, unconventional standards of personal conduct, class distinction, ethnic distinction, religious distinction, socio-economic distinction, or just their appearance.

Does the original question not raise a question about the general intolerance of our society itself?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

When you get right down to it, doesn't it seem that society has a tendency to marginalize anyone who appears to be different from their particular mainstream?

I think that's accurate. You can see it start to play out in schoolyards and it doesn't really change a whole lot in adult behavior: To be different is to be dangerous. Perhaps this is a type of xenophobia or neophobia which at one time had an evolutionary advantage.