Why People Are Not Getting Professional Help For Their Mental Illness

When the phrase “mental illness” is spoken, the immediate thought that pops into the individual’s mind is the extremes such as Schizophrenia, or Bipolar Disorder. However, the majority of mental disorders fall into the spectrum of quite common disorders such as Depression, Anxiety, or Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD). Why should the first thing that people think of be negative? What makes people think this way? Society has a negative view of mental illness because of media portrayal, the attitudes of individuals, and skepticism, and the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, makes a connection to these views of the world.

Some people may wonder what effect social media has on people worldwide. Many people are using social media daily and because of that, they might not know the effects that can be lurking behind a screen and causing harm to their mental health. Social media has many negative effects on mental health. Some people could think that mental health and social media has no relation, when it does. It is a fast-growing issue with many “cause and effect” reasons behind it. Each cause needs to be recognized along with the effect it has on the people who use social media.

Problem Statement: The World Health Association defines ‘good’ health as: “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” However, in the United States, access to care and funding for mental health care are grossly neglected and underfunded in comparison to other aspects of health care.

Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at

Oregon has a shortage of mental health clinicians and prescribers resulting in inadequate access to mental health services. Oregon has 90 designated Mental Health Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) (Kaiser Family Foundation [KFF], 2016). However, this data does not include Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners. The Portland Metropolitan Area, comprised of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties is not designated as a Mental Health Care HPSA (Oregon Health Authority [OHA], 2013). In Oregon, Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNP) and Physician Assistants are able to prescribe psychiatric medications. As of 2014, the entire state had 964 behavioral/mental health prescribers (Oregon Health

Technology throughout its existence has improved the overall quality of life for many people around the world. Its impact is evident in our generation, where many people rely on technology to gain information on current events, increase work efficiency and even helping us understand ourselves. “Advances in neuroscience, technology and research sophistication have greatly increased understanding of mental illnesses and improved the treatment of these disorders.” (Wahl, 2011). Despite our knowledge on various mental illnesses, many individuals stray away from professional assistance due to the stigma that is attached to the illness; many individuals do not opt for help because they do not want a label attached to them. Social media is a huge platform that influences many people and the slandering that many media platforms do when they discuss the topic of mental illness is slowly increasing and is an issue that must be discussed.

Donna, who suffered from bulimia for 13 years, refuses to have social media in order to protect herself. She was in an online discussion forum in high school where people compared their weights, binged together and helped one another avoid eating which affected her so greatly that it drives her to stay away from social media because she doesn’t want to compare anymore. There is social media pages very much like that discussion forum that Donna was in that motivate those who suffer to get worse by saying things like “Pretty girls don’t eat” and “skip dinner, be thinner” on the pictures they post. There always has been “Pro-ana” (pro anorexia) and “Pro-mia” (pro bulimia) websites but social media has given those type of sites a global platform where they can share their ideas and photographs to support the self-destructive behaviors that they treat as a lifestyle choice, instead of as the serious mental illness it is. The constant stream of images of we are exposed to cause eating disorders to thrive. One study shows that the more time teenage girls spend on facebook heighten the likeliness of them developing an eating disorder. These websites and social media pages may cause triggers but they are never the sole cause of someone’s eating disorder. There is also very many testimonies of recovery on social media that could have a positive effect on someone’s eating disorder as well, but it's

Everyday people see upsetting posts on social media. These posts range from sad animals to terrorist attacks which causes a range of emotions for the viewers. The average person has not been exposed to these situations outside of the media. Mental illness has been a “hot” topic in the media recently. Reporters and people with the illness try to raise awareness for the topic but the posts do not provide a true understanding for the common person. Around the 4th of July, stories about soldiers hiding in their basements begin popping up due to PTSD. The articles don’t allow the reader to grasp what the soldier has

Caputo and Rouner’s study found that many people are uneducated about mental illness and they get their information from the media (2011, p. 595 ). Citing National Mental Health Association, Caputo and Rouner (2011), noted that 58% of people learn about mental illness from newspapers, 51% from television news, 34% from news magazines, and 70% from television programs (p. 596). There is so much negativity attached to mental illness that many people are scared to seek help because of public perception (Caputo & Rouner, 2011, p.

An analysis done by the National Institute of Health revealed, that plenty of Pro-Anorexia or "Thinspiration" websites and blogs support extreme weight loss and eating disorders, masquerade as fitness inspiration websites. This caused plenty of body dysmorphia sufferers to restrict their diets, which is potentially hazardous as the content should supposedly be devoted to healthy pursuits. Social media is also an outlet where a person can be exposed to body shaming, which serves as a trigger for those already suffering from the

Cyberspace, something that was once considered a fad, has developed into a tool that allows people struggling with anorexia to potentially find a sanctuary from the regulatory systems in popular culture that are applied to women’s bodies. Cyberspace provides an alternative space for women with eating disorders or body issues. The space created by cyberspace is potentially safer for women to meet because it allows anonymity while simultaneously being part of a community that the built environment is unable to provide. The components that make up pro-anorexia websites are usually considered abnormal, repugnant, or deviant within popular culture, because popular culture does not accept the way

Mental health—and the stigma that comes along with it—is a very important issue, one of global importance. Shah and Beinecke explain that 450 to 500 million people suffer from mental illnesses (15). Just considering the amount of people who suffer from mental illness is enough to prove that this is a global issue. Despite the large amounts of people who are affected by mental illness, only one third of countries have some sort of program to help (15). This shows the lack of concern for those who suffer from mental illness. Stereotypes affect many people, and those with mental illness are no exception. Everyone has their own preconceived perspectives and notions of mental health, and many of them are uninformed and unjustified. It is up to us to start changing our viewpoints on mental health.

Lack of mental health literacy has been a rising problem in society as the prevalence of psychiatric disorders have increased. Heath literacy has helped people with physical health problems to get treatment and support that they need. It is important for people with mental health problems to have this support as well. The article, “Mental Health Literacy” by A.F. Jorn is about the issues that many societies today face when it comes to people understanding mental health.

In 2012, 12% of teen girls and 4% of teen males said that they experienced a major depression outburst within the past six months. Depression is the most common chronic illness and many people are accused as victimizing themselves (Wade). Those who turn to social media for support usually do not find it but are instead treated as a freak or as a person looking for attention (A2z). With 200,000 depression blogs it is hard to log on to Tumblr and not see signs of depression and self-harm on your dashboard. Instead of living in the moment, the blogs dread on things in the past and rarely show any sign of happiness in the life of the creator. On the other hand, Tumblr has realized the harm that the blogs pose to those suffering and have created anti-suicide blogs where bloggers can write to the creator and attempt to get help. Still, the anti-suicide blogs would not be necessary if the showing of the depression images were not glorified in the first place (Dewey).

One dull gray day, as I was scrolling through the endless pages of Instagram, I decided to look at the hashtag depression. With a mood as bleak as the day, I was hoping for some inspirational quotes but what I found was just the opposite. The images of arms and legs that resembled toothpicks rather than limbs, covered in crimson stripes cut through my senses like the blade that formed the scars. Interspersed between pictures of skeletal girls there were quotes to “inspire” those with similar mental health conditions. Pictures with black and white backgrounds with quotes such as “Skip Dinner, Wake Up Thinner,” and “Look at your thighs. Put down the food.” After further investigation, I began to realize that there are whole pages on Instagram devoted to “inspiring” individuals to not eat and to self-harm. These "thinspiration" support groups idolize self-harm and suicide and encourage individuals to self-harm, refrain from eating, and even commit suicide. Instead of images of optimism and hope, the website spewed messages encouraging people to continue to waste away. It struck me as odd to see that mental health, an arguably undiscussed topic by society, would have a huge following on social media. Mental health is an undeniably important topic, society has ignored the issue of mental health which has created a stigmatism towards those with mental disorders which causes those individuals to not seek the proper and necessary medical attention.