It’s a big word, and something no one wants to experience, especially from their health care provider. It might be even worse if it comes from your mental health care provider (e.g., therapist, counselor, psychiatrist). However, we want to assure you that your therapist or psychiatrist are not in their field to judge you or your adolescent. They are not there to make you or your child feel shameful about what you’re going through. ![IMG_6624[1]](https://wisesova.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_66241-300x114.png)
This TED talk about ‘What is Depression?’ is a great way to share what is happening to someone when they are experiencing depression.
Stigma is often talked about with mental health. However, do you know there are different kinds of stigma such as self-stigma? Self-stigma happens when an individual suffering from mental illness accepts the negative and inaccurate views of others about themselves and their mental health. 
Self-stigma influences how people feel about themselves. It also has a significant impact on their behavior and actions. Self-stigma frequently leads those suffering from mental illness to not come forward or seek help for their illness because they don’t want the label that comes with it. Even worse, stigma becomes another obstacle and can leave individuals feeling isolated. This can all lead to low self-esteem and can work against successful treatment, support, and recovery.
The other day I was in the university bakery and someone started to have a panic attack. Once you are practicing medicine for a while, telling between “sick” and “not sick” becomes an instinct. It means you know by pure observation how much to worry that someone is in a life-threatening situation. If you are talking and screaming, I know you are breathing very well. If you are holding yourself up on the counter and your cheeks are flushed, I know you have good strength and enough blood flow going to your muscles, skin, and brain. I know not to worry.
The problem was that other people not in medicine should not know that, yet everyone (almost all young college students) stood around staring and ignoring this person as he screamed for water. I looked around for water but before I saw it, a young woman quickly brought over a bottle. I told the young person having the attack I was a doctor and to take some deep breaths and sit on the floor. He said, “Its OK, I get panic attacks. I’m feeling better,” and his cheeks started to lighten. The young woman said, “I have anxiety too!”
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in America. The condition affects 40 million adults in the United States. That’s 18 percent of the U.S. population!!
However, despite this, people with anxiety disorders still live with the stigma that is often associated with invisible conditions. The Mighty asked their readers what living with Anxiety was like, and how they tackled living with it. It is important for you to know that you are not alone in this journey and you are not isolated. One of the reasons we have the SOVA website is to connect you with a supportive community and resources to help you with your journey.
The five signs of suffering are:
Someone may exhibit one or more signs when they are suffering.
Perhaps you’ve experienced these yourself or have noticed these in your child, or a friend or relative. Suffering can come to us in many ways – perhaps a close friend or relative has moved away or died, or perhaps mental illness makes life difficult on a day-to-day basis. Being aware of these 5 signs can be a helpful way to realize when you need to seek help your child seek professional advice or counseling.
Trigger Warning: Discussion about Suicide
By now you’ve most likely heard about Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why (13RW). It is a very captivating show, but also raises questions about whether the creators did the right thing in the way they used a television show to talk about suicide and rape or sexual assault. The show is about a girl in high school (Hannah Baker) – who is bullied, sexually assaulted, and eventually commits suicide. She leaves behind 13 tapes (or 13 reasons) as a sort of revenge to the people she thought wronged her and who were ultimately responsible for her decision to end her life. It is possible this show will shed light on some very difficult and important topics, but unfortunately, it also has the possibility to cause harm.
An awesome article by Buzzfeed was published about what depression actually looks like. We think it’s important to understand that depression is a universal thing, meaning that it can affect ANYONE. Continue reading What Depression Really Looks Like
May is recognized as Mental Health Month. During the following month, time is taken to raise awareness and educate the public about the realities of living with mental illness.
(picture from thinkstock)
Have you thought about how seeing an image can change the way you feel about something? Maybe you hate a certain fast food chain but they post a new sandwich that looks amazing and it changes your mind. Pictures are powerful.
Some of the pictures people post online about mental illness can make it seem like only people who always look like life is terrible have mental illness. That is a form of stigma – and it separates us from each other. It can make our kids feel like they are different from everyone else. The truth is people with mental illness are all around us and they look like anyone – smiling or not smiling – and usually they are not clutching their head.
