“Stereotypes are devices for saving a biased person the trouble of learning.”This anonymous quote puts into context the stigma attached to mental health. Long before man could comprehend the root causes of mental problems, the label of an inferior originated. In truth those who lived before us could well be classified as ignorant, yet the role we play as individuals today is astonishingly worse.
With better technology, a better understanding of mental health problems, those who are mentally ill may actually be worse off than our historical counterparts. It is a shame that we as human beings cannot come to give these socially isolated people a more equal role in the day-to-day society. They are impeached in every moment of their lives and hardly stand a chance of being in a socially equitable atmosphere. Though some may claim that a number of people are being given the rights that they had been previously deprived of, the stigma attached makes them outcasts in our society. Peer pressure and stereotypical views both play a huge part in this apartheid.
To cure these diseases, these social rights have to be addressed in the political realms and more importantly in the social realm, the latter needing a much more radical reform. This reform will be like that of the African-Americans after Jr. Martin Luther King stimulated a platform for equality. It will require a stronger value on human life. With the growth of stem-cell research along with a growing number of suicides, both seem to morally degrade the value of a real human life. Thus, a reform will require internal growth and satisfaction on a personal level, and then on a social level.
It is more of an ideological change in life, where parents who give birth to a child who is mentally unhealthy are not dissatisfied. In today’s world, the probability of parents keeping a child who has a mental condition is deteriorating in the face of so many external pressures. However, if the value of a life is understood at a personal level, even the most difficult of circumstances will not lead to abandoning a human life.
We seem to forget that there are also some who help our societies prosper while having a mental health condition. A prominent example of this is autism and the Down’s syndrome. Some of the people who have such mental problems can actually have a higher level of intelligence, and are normally asocial. A typical example of this is of the Hollywood movie “A Beautiful Mind” which is based on the true story of John Forbes Nash. Although these groups of people are usually small in number, we should not care for them just for the hope of personal gain – that is not helping our society.
We as humans have to first start from a premise that every single soul on the face of this planet has a role to play – only then will we move forward as a global society. This is not only going to empower a more existentialist approach, but will create a world of more interdependence. We may still ignore a person with a mental problem due to the social stigma, but we need to understand that every single human being is imperfect – much like Descartes’ reasoning of the stages of truth.
The change has to begin internally, and only then can we move on to restructure society as a whole to equip these people.
Mozafer Rajabali is a high school student who wants potential to be recognized in the most deprived of countries.
very true , mental health is something we must understand..people suffering from this problem are often treated very badly in society..think about their siblings on in fact there parents..its time ppl should understand ...humanity conquers all.
ReplyDeleteNice Post..really touched.
Cheers and stay healthy.