Mental HealthHow We Can Fight Stigma Associated with Anxiety

Anxiety is no joke for a huge number of people. Many in Victoria, for example, would benefit from being able to find an anxiety specialist for counselling in Melbourne, but they are held back by ongoing stigmas surrounding mental health. These prejudices and preconceptions have been around so long and are so prevalent, it can seem like an unwinnable battle when we talk about pushing back on them.

Actually, there are some very tangible and practical ways we can fight back against the stigma surrounding anxiety and other mental health issues.

1. Start Open Conversations About It

The first thing that immediately needs to happen is more people need to talk openly about their anxiety and other mental health issues. It’s easier said than done in many cases, but often there’s a waterfall effect when one group begins, leading by example, inspiring others to do the same and join in the thread. Over time what happens is a cascade of testimony from people suffering from anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD and other problems.

The importance of hearing others’ stories cannot be overstated, because it also prompts those who live in ignorance of their mental health problems to become aware of them. Countless people are depressed without even knowing what it is that is ailing them. The symptoms can seem so everyday and mundane, but it all points to something bigger. Real stories on anxiety and mental health help to open up these channels.

2. Be Mindful of Language We Use

All of society, knowingly or not, has baked prejudicial language that stigmatises mental health issues right into our everyday language. Describing unusual situations or bad ideas as “mental” or “deranged” for instance can become part of a kind of “othering” of those suffering with mental health issues, pushing them into silence.

It’s important, therefore, that we all reflect on the language we choose and think about how that might impact the thought processes of those around us. Someone right on the cusp of reaching out might have been pushed back into silence when you commented that their choice of lunch item suggested that they “have something wrong in the head!”

3. Generate Compassion

Many remain highly dismissive of mental health struggles, immediately writing sufferers off as lazy, incapable, unwilling to work, and worse. That lack of compassion and understanding, even just the lack of the benefit of the doubt, can exacerbate people’s mental health problems, which pushes them into a vicious cycle where their work continues to suffer, leading them to be disciplined or dismissed. Losing one’s job is like throwing petrol on a fire when it comes to anxiety and depression.

Approaching tricky situations compassionately from the outset can see problems resolved faster and in a way that is positive and lasting for the sufferer in question.

4. Open Up About Getting Help

Obviously, there’s no need to get into the details of what you discuss in counselling, but being open about the fact that you’re seeing a therapist is important for fighting the stigma. One of the best ways to cure people of their stigmas is to normalise the thing that they’re expressing negative feelings about.

If and when people can be more open about their seeking of help for mental health issues, then more people can discover that they are not alone. In fact, it will prompt others into exploring help for their own issues, or even to explore the possibility that their mental health isn’t as strong as they believe it was. It takes the bravery of those going through counselling and other help to be open about that to start that effect off.

This is a sponsored post