
Five years ago, Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, vetoed a bipartisan mental health bill because he didnât believe mental illness existed. He was influenced by Scientologists, a group founded by writer/guru L. Ron Hubbard, that opposes psychiatry, among other things. Abbott is still the governor of Texas.
Aside from Scientologists, what leads people to deny the reality of mental illness, when the signs are all around them? After all, one out of every four people will experience a mental disorder at some time in their lives.
I can think of several reasons. Not good reasons, but reasons.
The first is the âboy who cried wolfâ syndrome. People who struggle with mental illnesses just keep on struggling with them, darn it. Itâs not like they have one episode and then itâs gone, like a broken arm. After the second non-fatal suicide attempt or the fourth episode of cutting, the observer may conclude that the person with mental illness really has none and the symptoms are just âcries for attention.â In other words, the only thing âwrongâ with the person is they want to be seen as mentally ill, but really arenât. They are dismissed as âcrazy,â but not mentally ill.
Then there is caring burnout. A person may be sympathetic to a friend or family member with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or whatever, may help them through a number of episodes. But at some point, they get tired. They simply canât continue expending the considerable effort it can take to deal with a mentally ill person. âIf she cancels or doesnât show up to one more coffee date, thatâs it!â they think. I have lost friends for this reason.
Another more complicated reason is the denial of a personâs reality. I may be suffering internally, but it may not show on the surface. Many of us with mental disorders try to hide the symptoms and sometimes, especially among the high-functioning, it even sort of works for a while. The reality is that the illness continues âbehind the scenes,â as it were, and is not apparent to others. This is a double whammy. The disorder exists, but is denied by observers â and maybe even the person who has it.
The truth is that my mental illness is real. It is mine to live with and mine to deal with and mine to experience. What you think about it or whether you believe in it does not affect the reality of it at all.
Well, thatâs not quite true. Denial of mental illness does cause pain to the person who has one. Not being believed, being discounted, being blamed for various behaviors can be at the least wearying and at the most, soul-crushing. It feels like gaslighting to have someone say, âYouâre not really ill. Youâre just making it up/a drama queen/overreacting/going through what everyone goes through. Snap out of it!â
Just imagine what those people in Texas felt when they couldnât get the help they needed because the governor âdidnât believeâ in mental illness. The bill would have given âmore resources to medical professionals that help residents dealing with mental health problems. The bill in question was widely popular, supported by many large medical associations in the state and both political parties,â reported the Greenville (TX) Gazette.
Sometimes the only way a person can truly understand the reality of mental illness is when it strikes close to home. One of my own relatives didnât really believe until she saw up close what I was going through. She now at least believes, though she doesnât really understand.
Real understanding may be too big a leap for some people to take who have not experienced mental illness for themselves. Belief in its existence ought to be much easier. Apparently, it isnât.
source https://www.programage.com/news/The_Danger_in_Denying_the_Reality_of_Mental_Illness_1597417224616312.html
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