Disrupt Mental Health Stigma
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October 10 is World Mental Health Day. 1 in 5 people experience a mental health condition in a given year. So where is the conversation? In this video, I'll share some strategies we can all use to break down the stigma surrounding mental illness. By Zachary Burton, co-founder of The Manic Monologues, www.themanicmonologues.org DISRUPT STIGMA.
Audio Transcript Auto-generated
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Hello. I'm Zachary Burton and I have bipolar disorder.
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I'm also receiving my PhD from Stanford University in five
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Days have published my scientific research that I've conducted with
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the Department of Energy and with NASA, provided tips on
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professional development during the pandemic at my Ted X talk
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this year.
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And I've had my poetry published in the Wall Street
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Journal. But about that mental illness thing, that thing I've
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heard some describe as a weakness or as a character
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flaw, something that should be locked away, not talked about,
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left in silence and secrecy where it belongs October 10th,
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his World Mental Health Day today to remember that in
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any given year, one in five of us will experience
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a diagnosable mental health condition.
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Mental health is a leading cause of the global burden
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of disease.
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But despite this, in over half of the countries in
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the world, there's only one psychiatrist for every 100,000 people.
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Mental health is also highly stigmatized.
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Stigma forces people to suffer in silence, and it prevents
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them from seeking the care they need.
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Stigma profoundly affects the way that our society views and
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treats people with mental health conditions and it affects the
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way that these people see themselves.
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It effects their very identities.
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Worst of all, stigma can be fatal.
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I'm going to share an excerpt from a play that
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I co created called The Manic Monologues, which showcases true
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stories of mental illness to disrupt stigma.
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A word of warning is that this expert does deal
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with suicide.
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It's told from the perspective of a friend and fellow
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impatient of a young 19 year old woman, Pakistani descent
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who waas laughter and sunshine one day and gone after
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nine months of treatment.
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A day before her discharge, she was found hanging from
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a shower stall.
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The note said she could not return to her family
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that she had shamed and dishonored them with her weakness.
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This, she said, was what her father had told her.
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Day or nine months of healing could not diminish the
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power of stick.
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The power of ignorance in the mind of a father
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for whom mental illness was a character could not alter
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that young woman's opinion of herself as a bad daughter
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as someone to be ashamed, stigma and ignorance.
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You know, now this story is probably hard to hear,
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but we need to remember that this young woman is
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not alone.
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And so this World Mental Health Day, we need to
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remind ourselves to prioritize access to care and treatment, as
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well as to understanding and acceptance of mental health conditions
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to call upon our leaders.
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Our peers are co workers in our society as a
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whole, remote understanding and acceptance alongside proper access.
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There is hope, as one of our advisers and storytellers
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says, with openness, acceptance and hope and access to proper
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care, people can and do recover.
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The Mental Health Association of San Francisco reminds us that
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with proper access to treatment hair, 80 to 90% of
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people will recover and go on toe lead filling lives.
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And so I want to leave you with some strategies
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that you can employ in your day to day life
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to break down.
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Stick these air things that I've learned from my own
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experiences from mental health organizations from the countless amazing individuals
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I've gotten to meet over the years.
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First strategy is toe learn to educate ourselves to continue
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to read and hear these stories of mental illness and
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to also learn the facts and the truths behind mental
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illness rather than propagating these harmful myths.
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The second strategy is Thio about our language.
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Think about the word to be used words like psycho
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lunatic, insane, crazy, bipolar schizo These air harmful words that
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propagate these negative connotations that our society has attached unjustly.
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The people with mental health conditions also would ask you
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and encourage you not to say things like, Wow, I
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was so o c.
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D about those dishes last night.
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Or that last episode of the Great British Bake Off
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really gave me some PTSD because saying these things minimizes
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and trivializes the experience of people who suffer from these
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conditions and who are facing these conditions every day.
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The third strategy is to break down and challenges stereotypes
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surrounding mental illness.
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Challenge the stereotype.
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People with mental health conditions are dangerous or violent people
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with these conditions there no more dangerous than anyone else.
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Remember, we're talking about one in five people here in
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any given challenge, the stereotype that people with mental health
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conditions air week do not blame people with mental illnesses.
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I would never blame my grandma or my grandpa for
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the cancer that they suffered from in their final challenge
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the stereotype that people with mental illnesses are less competent
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or less capable in the workplace.
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On the contrary, the National Institute of Mental Health and
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NAMI have performed studies and found that employees in recovery
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demonstrate punctuality, attendance, productivity just a ZX good as other
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employees, if not better.
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In many cases, this leads into 1/4 strategy, which is
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Thio. Call out discriminatory or biased behavior.
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The stigmatizing behavior against people with mental health conditions.
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You know, whether it be friends and loved ones, bosses,
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the media, someone you bump into.
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Call out this behavior so that we can create change.
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I want to end with some points of positive focus
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on conversation and empowerment.
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Some final strategies to promote except first of these just
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be open about mental health conditions.
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You know, whether it's talking about friends who go to
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therapy or in my case, you know, I try to
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talk openly about medications.
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I'm on toe, break down some of this mystery and
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just normalize.
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This experience can really be helpful in creating a dialogue
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around mental health.
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Second strategy is to focus these conversations about mental health
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and empowerment, recovery positivity, you know, mental health is just
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one facet of these incredibly rich and complex lives that
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we all lead.
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Final strategy is to focus on supporting loved ones, family
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members, coworkers, people who deliver your groceries, people you bump
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into at the gas station.
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This support is so important in recovery and in saving
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lives. I know for myself my support system truly saved
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my life in May and summer 17 and without their
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continued support, my recovery and my continued growth would have
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been. And so thank you in this World Mental Health
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Day. Remember that together we can disrupt the stigma surrounding
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mental health.