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What Is Mental Health Awareness Month?
Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in the month of May since 1949. It was originally designated as such by Mental Health America. Founded in 1919 by Clifford W. Beers, Mental Health America is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. During the month of May, organizations, groups, and individuals run campaigns that are designated to raise awareness and educate the public about mental health conditions.
Why do we even need a Mental Health Awareness Month, anyway?
Though mental illnesses are clearly health disorders, inherent differences exist between physical and mental health problems that cause many to view mental health issues as less significant. For example, physical illnesses often have symptoms and findings that are more tangible when compared to mental illnesses. Someone presenting with bronchitis may likely have an abnormal lung examination, and someone with a stroke may have obvious signs of paralysis, speech dysfunction, or other obvious deficits. Likewise, many physical illnesses can be identified with abnormal test results, again making the diagnosis clearer. Unfortunately, mental illness can be more challenging in this regard. Few diagnostic lab tests, radiology studies, or other exams show abnormalities with mental health conditions. Even those that do often still fail to confirm a diagnosis. When clear-cut findings are absent, frustrations and doubts can arise. In some instances, individuals may even be suspected of faking their complaints.
Overall, people tend to be more assertive in seeking care for physical ailments than they are for mental health disorders. Many people even seek medical care when they have a persistent cold. So why wouldn’t someone seek care when their thinking, mood, or behavior begins to go awry? Surveys show that the average time between the onset of mental health symptoms and the decision to seek care for those with psychotic features (hallucinations, delusions, and/or bizarre thoughts) was more than one year. For depression and anxiety symptoms, the average length of time to seek care was more than eight years!1
Making a difference in the lives of people suffering from mental illness becomes quite difficult when such a delay exists between symptoms and interventions. We as a society tend to minimize mental health symptoms as a general rule. When compared to other conditions such as asthma or diabetes, thought or behavioral problems may be less appreciated or perhaps even ignored. After all, individuals do not necessarily want to admit something may be wrong with their thinking, mood, or behavior, particularly given the stigma associated with mental illness. Family members and friends similarly hope such problems will simply resolve on their own. Few are rushing to get the medical care needed for mental illness.
Consider the following scenario: A good friend has been down in the dumps for weeks. Nothing specifically happened to cause the blues, but regardless, he remains sullen, flat, and lethargic. Repeated attempts to get him to go cycling, out for dinner, or to a movie are met with resistance, and each time the answer is no. For many, the remedy is simply for him to “get over it.” After all, it’s not like he’s dying of cancer or nursing a raging pneumonia. The problem seems to be simply one of willpower.
Because mental illness lacks the same tangible evidence of poor health as physical ailments, often people are encouraged to simply “buck up” and get on with their lives. This is a big part of the problem. We wouldn’t tell someone with a broken leg to jog it off, and we similarly shouldn’t tell someone with mental health symptoms to will their symptoms away. Neither situation responds to such advice. In addition, particularly for many men, mental illness itself is seen as an inherent character weakness. People who see a “shrink” are viewed as lacking mental strength, and this undermines feelings of masculinity and pride. Unfortunately, by minimizing their complaints and trying to explain them away, these individuals delay the help they need, often causing them to become even sicker.
Mental health care can also be neglected because of how individuals and families react to mental health symptoms. Some attempt to normalize them. Individuals and families often share a form of denial in which obvious problems are shrugged off as being variants of normal. One may hear something like, “Oh, that’s just Rick being Rick.” In addition, some families have mental health conditions spanning several generations. When this occurs, the capacity for these families to tolerate odd thoughts and behaviors and to see them as normal increases. These are notable barriers that need to be overcome in order to encourage earlier and more comprehensive mental health care.
Because of the features of mental illness, assigning disability to someone suffering from a mental health disorder becomes challenging, as well. A doctor may hesitate in stating someone with a long-standing mental illness is disabled from working because of a lack of hard evidence in the form of exam findings and/or test results. Whether the threat is real or not, some doctors fear they may be reprimanded (or even have their licenses revoked) if some authority considers their disability assessment to be false. For these reasons, even the simple act of writing a work excuse for worsening mental health symptoms can be hard to get. All of this only serves to make the person with mental illness feel unimportant, poorly trusted, and unsupported.
Just as the medical community struggles with giving mental illness the same weight as physical illness, so does society. Employers readily excuse employees when they suffer a flu-like illness or need surgery, but calling in sick for the worsening of a depressed mood would likely be received quite poorly. Complaining that one cannot leave one’s home because of an increase in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms might result in being terminated. In either case, a no-win situation exists for the person with mental illness. They can either suffer through the workday in a worsened condition or face an increased risk for losing their job. Not the best situation to be in.
Will we always need a Mental Health Awareness Month?
But all hope is not lost. Mental illness is real, and early interventions do result in better outcomes. As a result, perseverance in seeking adequate help is essential, and people with mental illness need support from their families, caregivers, friends, and communities in overcoming the natural barriers to receiving proper care that currently exist. As we learn more about psychiatric disorders, these barriers will gradually diminish. In the meantime, understanding and support are needed to help individuals suffering from mental illness to get the help they need.
References
1 Thornicroft, Graham, Diana Rose, and Aliya Kassam. “Discrimination in health care against people with mental illness.” International Review of Psychiatry 19, no. 2 (2007): 113–122.
