Mental Health Myths

I’m sure you’ve heard about mental health more nowadays from the news, your friends, your family. Unfortunately, misconceptions and lack of understanding of this subject can lead people to come to wrong conclusions, creating misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding mental health. So what is a fact and what is a myth? Here are five common mental health myths that you might have heard before. Myth number five self harm is a form of attention seeking. Self harm is a coping mechanism. It is not a form of attention seeking. On the contrary, people that self harm actually try really hard to hide their scars and injuries. They don’t want the attention. They can also self harm to feel some type of emotion. Just remember, it has to be taken seriously. However, not all people that self harm is suicidal. Myth number Four eating disorders only affect females. There’s a social stigma that females are the only ones that suffer from eating disorders. However, a recent study from Harvard shows that 25% of the cases presented with an eating disorder are actually male. Thinking that it is only a female diagnosis will only increase the misdiagnosing of male when seeking help. Myth number three you only have to take care of your mental health if you have a mental health disorder, don’t you go to a regular doctor visit? It’s the same thing. You don’t need to have a mental health diagnosis in order to seek therapy. You are not born with a mental illness, which could be another myth. We can get anxiety, depression and other diagnosis due to our lifestyle and behaviors. So take care of yourself and your mind today. Myth number two PTSD is only seen in army veterans. PTSD is not only a military issue. Although they are at higher risk due to their exposure in the field. Anyone that has gone through a major traumatic event can potentially meet the criteria for PTSD diagnosis. You might have been involved in a car crash, for example, been harassed or bullied, and that would count towards PTSD. Number One myth talking about suicide or asking someone if they are suicidal will encourage their suicide attempt. On the contrary, talking about suicide may lower the chances of that person actually acting on it. By opening the conversation, the person might feel comfortable enough with you to check alternatives and seek help. It is important to clear these myths for people to better understand mental health, feel more comfortable sharing their experiences, and feel safe to go seek help as a rule thumb, just remember that if you are not the expert on a subject, please do your research and educate yourself before talking to someone else about it’s.