Why is mental illness a banned topic?

So many people don't want it to be a topic cause its taboo and banned

It’s not taboo and isn’t banned. It’s fairly common topic on the internet and irl

there's still a massive stigma about it here though

This is a mental health support site. People talk about the stigma but no, there’s no stigma here.

i was meaning here as in where i live in real life

Maybe it’s a particular region where you are? Your town? Work place? You are in UK right?

I have close family in UK, London and I travel there several times a year. It’s not a prohibited topic at all. In fact a family member of mine has her share of mental health struggles and it’s nothing secretive or taboo. In fact people mostly understanding and discuss these topics

Of course it depends on where and how you are discussing mental health issues? Context is important

Mental health problems have been going on since the beginning of time and it hasn't gotten the exposure that it needs. My great grandmother died in a psych ward at the age of 43 from pneumonia from an ice bath.

Im in uk and theres still stigma about it, people judge ror mental health issues

Willowtigger a dungturd and shes known that from the age of 4

It's not so much a banned topic but it's a topic that most people don't really know about. All they have is this blurry preconceived very negative stereotype of what it's about, and so everyone prefers to talk about 'happier' things, no one wants to go 'there'. Until one day after many years of inner suffering they decide to summon up the courage and ask the doctor why they keep and the doctor tells them they have depression, they have this or that. And then suddenly they become one of the people asking why no one wants to talk about mental illness! That's it.

No, Willowtigger is *not* a dungturd.

Others may have wanted her to believe that, and unfortunately, it seems they were 'successful' as Willowtiger believes that message. But this is not the truth: Willowtigger is not a dungturd.

I asked a Dr. at Johns Hopkins how much she knew about mood disorders and she said "Not much. Maybe in 10 yrs we'll know more". So the field of Psychiatry is small, they don't have many tools. They also told us at Johns Hopkins "Depression is very treatable". Well, why are there so many people in the hospital then? And as soon as they are discharged the beds are filled up quickly; there's no shortage of mentally ill people.

I think it often makes people feel uncomfortable. I'm glad here in the U.S. we now have commercials for meds for bipolar and schizophrenia, and a number of famous people have announced that they have mental illnesses. I think that's helping. I'm sorry the U.K. is not as open.

willowtigger is a scumturd

fact

I agree with Travelinglady, willowtigger. I think it's an area of medicine that frightens a lot of people. And very few people really understand it (because it can be so complex, I believe), and they haven't had a lot of higher education, which would help towards reducing lingering stigma a great deal.

I have personally run into some very nasty and unexpected attitudes, but I did remind myself that the individuals giving me grief and offering up their ignorant opinions were not very educated people. And they rather liked it that way. Some people actually LOVE being stupid. And, deep inside them, there was probably also a lot of fear at work. Because people ALWAYS fear what they do not understand.

I do believe compassion is greatly increased in proportion to the amount of suffering we've personally experienced. Also, having a beloved relative who has faced these kinds of illnesses helps inform our attitudes a great deal, one would hope.

So, don't let their ignorance ruin your mood or take away anything from you. Rise above it, and know that they have a lot of reality checks coming to them in short order---because into every life, some rain must fall. They will get older, they will develop aches and pains. Sleep might begin to elude them. They might even develop or experience a depression for themselves, or other difficulties. Not that I wish this kind of pain on people. But it does happen, and it can open people's eyes. Or they can remain empty, useless, and hopelessly uninformed lumps.

Consider the source, and fight against those idiotic name callers. Do not rent them that space in your head. They are not worthy of a second more of your time.

I've found that if someone doesn't understand something or is frightened by it, that turns into stigma. Where I live, there was an anti stigma campaign done by a major hospital. Anyone could take part and tell their story. I was a chicken, however....
My family couldn't understand mental illness and never attempted to. I don't know if my reasoning above applied to them though.

Willowtigger is a great person!

The topic of mental illness frightens a lot of people. Usually people who are negative about mental illness are uneducated about the subject, and this usually stems from fear. Fear that they might have mental illness issues, or people they know might have them. In today's society, mental illness is discussed more freely, and people are becoming more educated. With more celebrities and other well known people opening up about their mental illness issues, people are becoming more comfortable with the topic. However, there is still a long way to go with getting everyone on board so to speak. I encourage people to look up information on mental illness and specific topics if they have questions.



Thanks

I don't know where in the country you are, but I am also in the UK and mental illness is certainly NOT a 'banned' topic. Yes, there is some stigma attached to *some* mental illnesses but generally, people are far more open and accepting of mental health problems.

Very true