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Mental Health Humanization
Sabrina Savage
Chamberlain University
ENGL148
Professor Napier
October 28, 2023
2
Mental Health Humanization
Everyone around us is struggling as we try to navigate the troubles that we experience
every day. Some of us are not quite as fortunate to possess and utilize proper coping skills, as
well as are hindered with their lack of ability to react to these troubles in a way that society
considers normal. Mental health is on a rise, whether it is mild, maybe a certain time frame of
your life and it is limited, or you suffer with chronic mental health disorders. People every day
are being diagnosed and we still have not solved every case and where these disorders are
stemming from. The diagnosis follows you. Maybe at work you are now looked at as unreliable,
at school you are shamed or expected to not to perform like others around you. Mental health has
been stigmatized, as if you are less than, or the undesirable part of the population. Our healthcare
system is just now learning how to provide care for mental health patients. The need for proper
and adequate care is on the rise, and we need to be tackling this issue as hard as we would tackle
cancer, or a worldwide pandemic of a virus, and not treat the patients like they are a problem.
On average 57.8 million Americans are battling mental illness as of 2021. To put that into
perspective, there are 332 million Americans. Meaning that 192 million people suffer with
mental health issues. You would assume with that many of us affected, that our society would
have more compassion and grace. Unfortunately, that is not the reality for most mental health
sufferers and the stigma they are faced with. Sufferers are not only learning how to navigate their
illness but also learning to navigate their jobs, friendships and relationships. Learning that a
coworker has a diagnosed mental illness, our immediate reaction is to distance ourselves and
become weary of the person. Regardless of how you saw that person seconds before this new
information, you now have come to a new conclusion of who this person must be. Mental health
is not a dirty word, and it shouldn’t make the person feel as if they are to never admit to having
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it. Experiencing this treatment from society can then lead to multiple affects. One article from the
American Psychiatric Association written by Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D.
states that “more than
half of people with mental illness don’t receive help for their disorders.” If we have 20 plus
million Americans diagnosed but not receiving treatment for their disorders due to the stigma
associated with them receiving help, how are these people expected to live a meaningful life?
Imagine one day you wake up and you feel off, different than normal. A shadow has been
cast upon you, with no light in sight. You continue on with your morning routine, going through
the motions of everyday tasks and head on to work. The day passes as normal but still something
is different; heavy almost. The week goes by, and you continue to function as normal but with a
weight on your chest and a thick fog in your mind. Those daily tasks that were once done
mindlessly are now completed with extreme effort. Difficult days turn into difficult weeks, who
then turn into months and before you know it, you’re an empty vessel trying to get day to day.
Your work is still accomplished but with a price to yourself. Finding yourself at a crossroads,
you need to make a decision to continue survival, you can turn to the healthcare system if
possible and try get answers and relief or continue to suffer in silence due to possible judgement.
“As many as one in four adults in the workplace suffer from psychiatric illness in a given year.”
(Gold, 2009). If these statistics were taken in 2009, we can only assume that the increase is
substantial. We decide to receive help and have been given a diagnosis. This diagnosis is life
altering, as we now move forward with clarity to search for that light. “People working in a care-
giving environment are simultaneously leading their own lives and and going through their own
struggles” (Tehrani, 2010) Noreen Tehrani gives good insight and reminds us to make no
mistake, this journey is not one of ease, but it’s time to lose this shadow overcasting on our lives.
Notifying our place of work will be a step on our healing journey, taking into account the risks
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4
this will have on our professional image and integrity. Thankfully we do have the ADA
(American with Disabilities Act) to protect us,
“
The ADA mandates that patients with disability
receive reasonable accommodations and
providing reasonable accommodations is critical to
ensuring equitable care for patients with disability.” (Iezzoni, 2022) Even with these measures it
can unfortunately still not be enough to stop the defamation, and the incivility that will happen.
We are not in control of others’ actions, thoughts or feelings. This is why rights acts have been
put into place to help humanize people with these mental disabilities.
So, let’s combat this, how can we be the change to create a compassionate society and
workplace? We start with our perspective, as this is powerful in itself. We find love and kindness
in our hearts, we learn to hear while we listen, and we grow our own emotional intelligence to try
and comprehend that not everyone shares the same reality. Expanding our skills of self-
awareness and social awareness lends a helping hand to keeping our minds open. Learning signs
and cues to help recognize when someone is in mental health distress or crisis. Adequate training
in the workplace as well as consulting a mental health professional or support group to learn
signals. Providing a safe environment among leaders and fellow citizens to share and create
positive training to improve and support individuals experiencing mental health issues. Sharing
one’s own experiences can create an opportunity for another to be open about their own
struggles.
“
Having mental illness can feel incredibly marginalizing for a number of reasons so
hearing lived experience can be really humanizing.
” (Colori, 2021). Getting involved in the
mental health community, raising awareness, raising funds for organizations to help further
research or provide help for those struggling with the symptoms. Lastly, we set the example. We
live and lead a life of compassion and welcomeness. Treating everyone we come in contact with
whether briefly or infinitely, with grace.
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Living a life of fear and isolation is not how I would like my loved ones to exist.
Knowing someone with mental illness doesn’t mean they are not worthy of time and effort.
Leaning to adapt and have complete mindfulness of others and the issues they face can bring a
wholeness to one's own life. Let’s end the stigma and dehumanization of mental health. Every
human on this earth, deserves to be shown compassion and grace. It brings me back to being a
young child and being taught the golden rule, treat others how you would want to be treated.
Maybe you yourself will be given a diagnosis and need that compassion, the need to feel wanted
and welcome. “Most of us know only too well, from our own experiences or from someone close
to us, that extremely unpleasant events or continuing social or emotional difficulties can take us
to the brink of mental illness” (Newton, 1992). End the stigma.
References
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Borenstein, J. (n.d.).
Stigma., prejudice and discrimination against people with mental illness
.
Psychiatry.org - Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness.
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination
Gold, L., & Shuman, D. W. (2009).
Evaluating mental health disability in the workplace model,
process, and analysis
. Springer New York.
Tehrani, N. (Ed.). (2010).
Managing trauma in the workplace : Supporting workers and
organisations
. Taylor & Francis Group.
Iezzoni, L. I., Rao, S. R., Ressalam, J., Bolcic-Jankovic, D., Agaronnik, N. D., Lagu, T., Pendo,
E., & Campbell, E. G. (2022). US Physicians' Knowledge About The Americans With
Disabilities Act And Accommodation Of Patients With Disability.
Health Affairs, 41
(1), 96-22.
https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01136
Colori, S. (2022, June 21).
Dynamics of sharing lived experience
. Schizophrenia bulletin.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9212090/#:~:text=Validating
%20someones%20experience%20with%20more,I%20have%20had%20them%20to
.
Newton, J., & Newton, J. (1992).
Preventing mental illness in practice
. Taylor & Francis Group.
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