The social stigma against mental illness kicks those who suffer from it while they’re down.

Huge strides have been made in accepting social issues that people wouldn’t talk about 20 years ago. However, we still have a long way to go on a specific topics, specifically mental illness. A better understanding of mental disorders is a crucial part of breaking the stereotype assigned to a large portion of the population.

People that experience mental illness carry the burden of both the disability and living with the stigma. One in four American adults experience some form of mental illness in a given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. One in 17 lives with a serious illness such as depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Considering such a high morbidity rate of mental health problems, it’s surprising that the subject is not often discussed, and even more so because it costs Americans $193 billion annually in lost earnings, according to the American Psychological Association. With the amount of money lost, it seems logical that people would make more of an effort to understand the problem. However, the topic is often associated with a negative situation when discussed.

In the public conversation, it’s not a secret that the media have the tendency to perpetuate stereotypes. In this case, the media are partly to blame for the confirmation of the distorted perception of mental disorders. Recently, the media has done a wonderful job by continuing to relate the phrase ‘mental illness’ to tragic events.

Miriam Carey’s sister spoke out about her depression and psychosis after Carey ran her car into the White House gate a few weeks ago, according to Today News. Aaron Alexis, the recent D.C. Navy Yard shooter, heard voices, according to The Huffington Post. While these people were dealing with their own problems, the way the media presented the incidents only fueled the stereotype that everyone dealing with a mental illness is crazy.

There have been some efforts made by people standing up against the stigma. Kevin Breel’s Ted Talk “Confessions of a Depressed Comic” went viral last week when the 19-year-old admitted he struggles with depression.

Breel said, “It seems to be hard for everyone to talk about (depression) so much so that no one’s talking about it.”

Breel described depression as a massive problem, and said society needs to change its perception so that people can see the severity.

“What you fear the most isn’t the suffering inside of you, it’s the stigma inside of others,” he said.

The stigma is not limited to those suffering from depression, but also bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Not only would it benefit everyone to understand mental disorders, but it would help those who deal with them personally.

The prejudice in society only perpetuates the problem by discouraging individuals with mental illness to seek the help they need. We can’t relieve others of their mental battles, but we can relieve them of the fear of being ostracized. 

-Alyssa Reynolds is a senior communication major from Ferndale. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.