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Student Corner

Are individuals with mental illness treated equally by society?

Written by: Surabhi Ghimire - 26012, Grade IX

Posted on: 15 December, 2022

Mental illnesses are disorders related to the brain which can transpire in a person at any time. These diseases arise due to various reasons. For instance, family issues, overthinking, puberty, bullying, and cyberbullying. Mental disorders in society are confounded. A group of multiple neighborhoods indicates more individuals and different viewpoints. A prosperous character sees a thrown item as rubbish. An abandoned/homeless person behaves towards it like treasure. 50% of the civilization has been diagnosed with a mental disorder. A ton of people are recognized to be ignoring the result/happening of these illnesses. Without a doubt, these disorders are crucial and can originate effortlessly.

Analyzing the current situation,  people who know about mental health most take it as being weak. I organized a chart on a social media account and asked strangers for their opinion. Although most agreed that it is a crucial topic, some accused the origin of mental illness of people being vulnerable or sensitive. There are stages of the symptoms of mental illnesses. It can get severe. Not one article I’ve read mentions the tiredness mental disorders can cause. For example, it can get as bad as not being able to brush your teeth daily or clean your room. In this case, perspective matters. Someone struggling with a mental disorder might find it hard to do day-to-day activities such as eating, cleaning, hygiene, and taking proper care of themselves. People supporting the awareness of mental disorders can also find it impractical. It may be from a lack of knowledge or simply judging. In my opinion, some people with mental illness need extra attention and care. Most teens today have severe symptoms of mental disorders. Society sees a child facing problems with their mental health as fake as if they are faking it for attention. Faking mental illness or sadness can also be a big sign of mental illness. It provokes the idea that the child faking mental illness to get attention has always been pushed away or ignored by their parents.  Again, society sees an older person suffering as “irresponsible” or “sensitive.” My point is that society’s opinions do not matter. You can move forward with small steps, even if it means brushing your teeth.

The main problem of society is not believing mental illnesses exist unless they have been through it. Example, phrases like “Stop being lazy.” If it is well-known that people you are claiming to be “lazy” are suffering from a disease it is immoral to say such things to them. Looking at another side of the story, not everyone is educated about mental illnesses since it is still not labeled as an important topic by individuals. The generation gap and the family environment may be why most don't know about it. To summarize, mental disorders are overlooked by society. It is considered sensitive and lazy by most of them. They are treated as simply being sad and not diseases. They get surprised when people don't brush their teeth but still have not realized that many people commit due to mental illnesses.