The Alestle, Vol. 76, No. 22

When you’re a student, it can be hard to keep track of your mental health between school, work and extracurriculars. Because of this, The Alestle realized that providing some information on mental health would bring value to the SIUE community.

This issue’s topic was suggested by Alex Aultman,

our former editor-in-chief. However, the creation of this issue was truly a collaborative, ever-evolving process. We chose the zine format because it made it more practical to carry around, something you can easily keep with you to inform yourself on mental health throughout the day.

With a pun fully intended, I joke that the mental health issue has caused me mental health issues. It was incredibly

stressful to produce, but I’m very proud of the work we’ve been able to create as a staff together through this. It was truly a labor of love.

We at The Alestle hope that sharing this information with you will give you a more thorough understanding of your mental health, as well as that of others.

‘I’m so OCD’: Misunderstood psychological disorders

DYLAN HEMBROUGH reporter

Trigger warning: This article contains discussion of mental illness and suicidal ideation.

Mental illness has become much less taboo in recent years, but it is still often very misunderstood. These misconceptions can lead to stigmatization and sometimes even harassment.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Among these misunderstood disorders are obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder (BPD). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, or DSM, is used as a benchmark for defining disorders and mental illnesses.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to the DSM-5, is characterized by “dysfunctional beliefs” that can include “an inflated sense of responsibility and tendency to overestimate threat.” Many equate OCD with perfectionism and a need for absolute control but do not think any further beyond this.

OCD exists in a unique spot in the mind of society, both shunned as something that only controlling or “Type-A” people have, and diluted as a simple preference for being neat and tidy. Nystrom & Associates outpatient therapist Hailie Kallembach breaks down a few common myths about OCD online, addressing the idea that “everyone has a little OCD” and its incorrect perception as a personality trait.

I personally have struggled with OCD for much of my life, and I can attest to the stigmatization and misunderstanding of the disorder. The “O” in OCD stands for “obsessive,” and usually goes unseen by the general public. People with OCD fight repulsive thoughts and may feel like their own mind has turned against them.

To cope with the mental images these intrusive thoughts often produce, people with

OCD often perform “compulsions,” represented by the “C” in the acronym. Compulsions are the more visible side of the disorder: excessive hand-washing and performing certain actions a certain number of times are among the more common and noticeable compulsions, but many “rituals,” as they are sometimes called, are also entirely mental.

What classifies OCD as an anxiety disorder is the often debilitating anxiety and sense of panic that comes along with a person’s need to perform a compulsion. Obsessive thoughts which center around death or sex may involve compulsions in which the person reprimands themselves for having such thoughts, even if the person is completely aware that they are unwanted, repulsive and involuntary.

OCD is just one of many psychological disorders for which affected people have to deal with misunderstandings, misconceptions, stigmatization and sometimes even harassment. It is always important to remember to treat people with respect and empathy, especially when they are suffering.

For information on other misunderstood disorders, check out the online version of this article at alestlelive.com and the resources below.

OUR ONLINE VERSION INCLUDES MORE INFORMATION ON THE FOLLOWING DISORDERS:

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Schizophrenia

Borderline Personality Disorder VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES FOR MORE RESOURCES:

International OCD Foundation

Children and Adults with Attention

Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

The schizophrenia webpage at the National Institute of Mental Health

National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OTHER DISORDERS CHECK OUT THE DSM-5 IN THE DSM LIBRARY AT PSYCHIATRY ONLINE.

Sexism in the medical field is as old as health itself

CHLOE WOLFE photographer

Throughout history, women have been ignored by medical professionals when they complained of any ailment. The diagnosis of hysteria was just another way women’s problems were dismissed.

Hysteria was first documented in Ancient Egypt and Greece. It stood the test of time and was a common diagnosis for women until the 1980s. Even though it was proven incorrect, the diagnosis still affects people with uteruses today. Hysteria is a diagnosis centered around uteruses. Until about 40 years ago, medical professionals believed that uteruses affected their owners mentally, causing them to act “crazy”.

Kathleen Vongsathorn, an associate professor in the history department who focuses on women’s health, describes hysteria as many different diagnoses all in one.

“Some arguments have been made for hysteria, often being diagnosed in a case of what may have been endometriosis,” Vongsathorn said. “Another typical reason for the diagnosis of hysteria in women was a notion that they were over-educated and their minds were overstimulated and that had caused mental health issues because their minds weren’t prepared for it. There’s also a whole range of mental illnesses that could fall under the label of hysteria.”

Although the idea had existed before, hysteria became a common diagnosis in the 1880s.

Some of the “solutions” to hysteria included marriage and orgasms, which were known as uterine massages and performed by doctors with special tools, according to the National Library of Medicine. Vibrators are a direct result of this treatment.

Vongsathorn described another common diagnosis from the time known as neurasthenia. Neurasthenia had similar symptoms to hysteria, but had a nearly equal diagnosis between men and women.

Although they had similar symptoms, the diagnosis for hysteria was 97 percent women. Hysteria was often diagnosed as a way to ignore ailments that women actually faced. Instead of taking the time to figure out what

was actually wrong, doctors would just say they were going crazy. This still has repercussions today.

Vongsathorn said that women are more likely to die of heart attacks because their symptoms were less studied compared to men’s, leading doctors to ignore the symptoms and sign them off as something else.

“We have this long history of women’s reporting, especially of pain, being delegitimized by basically saying, ‘Well, they’re just hysterical or over emotional, or they just don’t handle pain very well,’” Vongsathorn said. “And this has been in our society and in our medicine for so long.”

In a survey, The Alestle asked participants that identify as a woman or those who were socialized as women, if they had ever been told by a doctor that their physical health issues were ‘all in their head.’

Out of 538 people, 49.88 percent (263) said yes, 18.96 percent (102) said no and 32.16 percent (173) said the question did not apply to them.

“Every woman can tell stories of when they go to a doctor with symptoms, and the doctor suggests that it might be anxiety or depression or something like that,” Vongsathorn said, “Stories where you could go for something totally unrelated, like asthma, which is well documented medically over the course of years. And then the doctor might be like, ‘Oh, well, the medicine isn’t working. So maybe that means that you have this anxiety disorder, which means that you don’t breathe well.’”

Hysteria is rooted in the establishment’s prejudice that women are crazy simply because they have a different reproductive system than men. Due to this difference, women are looked at differently and can be not as well cared for by the medical field. Vongsathorn thinks this is a part of the sexism women face throughout their lives.

“I guess socially that this is one among a number of ways in which women’s experiences are delegitimized and women’s lives are made more difficult.” Vongsathorn said. “It’s just one facet of sexism effectively.”

Neurodivergency and its effect on identity

BRUCE DARNELL sports editor

From autism to ADHD, being neurodivergent defines a person for the rest of their lives due to each disorder affecting development at a young age, though it may not be for the worse.

Neurodiversity is a concept that includes multiple disorders that involve cognitive abilities, such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and others. Those without these types of disorders are described as neurotypical.

The name was coined in 1998 by a sociologist named Judy Singer. Singer wanted to highlight that while people with these disorders were different, it did not mean that they were lesser than their neurotypical peers.

Autism is typically diagnosed early in a child’s life, which is due to parents noticing things about their children that make them concerned. These can range from not making eye contact, playing with toys in unusual ways or showing signs of delayed development.

In a study by Lily Cresswell and Eilidh Cage, a group of students with autism were tested to see what effect the disorder had on their identities. The main categories were the assimilated group, which was made up of autistic people that had fit in with non-autistic groups, and the marginalized group, composed of people that did not fit in with the majority of non-autistic groups.

Their results found that the main difficulty an autistic adolescent will face is figuring out where in society they want to fit in. It does not, however, play a major role

in mental health issues directly.

People with autism will have to decide whether they want to fit in or stand out. While neither affects mental health, fitting in with the non-autistic majority seemingly produced more positive effects. One reason for this is that assimilating reduces bullying among peers.

The other identity-forming disorder is ADHD. The disorder affects a person’s ability to concentrate, ability to function and ability to maintain compulsions.

nosed early in life, but there are many nosis up into the middle of their lives. There can be a great dif-

ADHD, like autism, is usually diagnosed early in life, but there are many examples of adults getting a diagnosis up into the middle of their lives. There can be a great difference between a person that was diagnosed at a young age and a person that was diagnosed at an older age.

With how ADHD affects a person’s cognitive and behavioral abilities, it is very common for people with ADHD to have trouble fitting in with society. Some examples of this include failing school, being fired or having trouble maintaining relationships.

Learning how to live with ADHD is the best treatment, since medication tends to stabilize a person’s life instead of enhancing it. Understanding different ways of task management, as well as how ADHD may affect individually, is just as vital as being medicated.

The best way to live life as a neurodivergent person is to understand that while you may be different, you are in no way less deserving of things or less capable than your peers. There will always be a place in society for people that are different, and what may seem to be a problem at one stage may end up becoming a benefit at another.

Singer.

SEEKING HELP

DAMIAN MORRIS multimedia editor WINTER RACINE photographer

From finding the right provider to understanding insurance coverage, navigating the mental health system can prove intimidating to many.

Jessica Ulrich, director of Counseling Services, said she encourages those who may feel scared or intimidated by the process to contact Counseling Services. She said they can help simplify many of these steps through various forms of support such as assistance in understanding their treatment options and referrals to community providers.

“Therapy is a mutual relationship a client has with a counselor or therapist that they’re working with,” Ulrich said. “It allows the individual to be

able to work on presenting concerns that they have. Therapy can definitely differ from person to person but typically speaking, there is a mutually agreed upon goal that you’re working towards, and therapy is supposed to be a place where someone can support you in reaching that goal.”

Assistant Social Work Professor Aidan Ferguson also said it’s important to remember that denying a provider based on a lack of connection or comfort with them will not be taken personally.

“The most important predictor of positive outcomes in therapy is actually the therapeutic relationship,” Furguson said. “Every mental health care provider out there knows that not everyone is going to fit with your therapeutic style, and that’s okay. There’s no hard feelings if you walk into a therapist’s office, you have your first session, and you’re like, ‘Something about this is just not jiving with me.’”

CAMELA SHARP reporter

In order to maintain mental health, seeking professional help is almost always key. But it’s also good to keep in mind and be aware of another component: self-care.

Sarah Conoyer, an associate professor in psychology and licensed clinical psychologist, said that self-care is doing things that build your ability to be motivated to cater to your responsibilities.

“I see it as not just doing things that we enjoy, but sometimes it’s having boundaries with people, sometimes it’s saying no to things that you maybe want to do but you can’t do because we can only do so many things,” Conoyer said.

Conoyer said that self-care is important to mental health because through self-care, we become more mentally healthy.

“I think often we get some of those mental health needs met through those self-care practices. It’s not just about being happy, but I think it is a

connection of being able to be self aware to know enough of what it is that is maybe good for you and maybe isn’t so good for you,” Conoyer said.

Carlee Hawkins, an associate professor in psychology at SIUE and social psychologist, said that a lack of self-care starts this chain reaction of problems. Simply not feeling well will affect the way we behave and feel about ourselves and our outlook on the world.

“It’s a downward spiral,” Hawkins said. “When we present to the world and to people around us as tense, anxious, worried, stressed. Chaos machine. Running around everywhere. When we present like that, it’s contagious, it stresses other people out.”

Hawkins also said the importance of self-care is demonstrated by the negatives of neglecting it.

“Over time that can lead to disease and disability and death,” Hawkins said. “Because no one else can do it for us and we have to do it for ourselves or it doesn’t happen. And if we neglect our self-care then we start to disconnect and then we start to degrade.”

Online, misery loves company; offline, recovery takes work OPINION

NICOLE BOYD online/opinion editor

In an age where mental illness relatability culture reigns online, healthy coping mechanisms are often scoffed at while self-destructive behaviors are seen as “relatable” and “real.”

A myriad of mental illness symptoms become jokes online to the point that an ingroup, or group of people who identify with each other based on common factors, forms around them and people begin to identify with their mental illnesses. This leads to entire internet subcultures related to substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, self-harm and borderline personality disorder, just to name a few.

“...There has been a recognition of [a] vast online ‘neurodivergence’ ecosystem in which classical mental illness symptoms and diagnoses are viewed less as mental health concerns that require professional attention, but rather as consumer identities or character traits that make individuals more sharper and more interesting than others around them,” according to the research paper, “Social media as an incubator of personality and behavioral psychopathology: Symptom and disorder authenticity or psychosomatic social contagion?”

Within these internet subcultures, jokes normalizing unhealthy coping mechanisms receive positive attention in the form of likes and replies, but suggestions such as journaling or going for a walk are received poorly. A common response is that these things won’t cure them.

While that may be true at face value, the real issue here is that in order to recover, you have to be willing to put in the work. Taking medication can be helpful, but for many (myself included,) it’s not enough on its own. Often, other activities such as therapy, finding a hobby, physical activity, yoga or spending time outside are needed in

addition to medication to make a true lifestyle change.

Another common complaint is that therapy doesn’t “work.” This can be said for many reasons – not connecting with a therapist or being misdiagnosed – but there are factors that a patient can control. For example, it’s important to be open and honest with your therapist. They are not mind readers and cannot help you if you are not vulnerable about what’s going on. It may be helpful to directly ask them for advice if you would like more to work on between sessions, but in the end, it’s up to you to put those suggestions into practice.

This is not to invalidate the truly difficult feat of recovery. For some, “recovery” in the traditional sense isn’t even possible, but coping and living with a mental illness is. It can be difficult to try healthy coping mechanisms when you’re simply struggling to stay afloat, or in such a dark place that recovery isn’t even a goal. It’s also important to note that recovery isn’t linear, and it doesn’t mean you’ve failed if your mental wellbeing ebbs and flows.

However, brushing off any healthy coping mechanism that might help isn’t going to get you to a better place – and identifying with your mental illness as part of your self-concept likely won’t motivate you to try, either.

Recovery isn’t going to just happen. You have to want it at the very least. If you don’t, maybe you should re-evaluate the content you consume and how it shapes your self-image.

BY THE NUMBERS

DO YOU HAVE ANY MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?

WOULD YOU CONSIDER HAS THE PANDEMIC

YOURSELF NEUROTYPICAL OR NEURODIVERGENT?*

IMPACTED YOUR MENTAL WELLNESS?

*Neurotypical is defined as “not displaying or characterized by autistic or other neurologically atypical patterns of thought or behavior,” and Neurodivergent is defined as “differing in mental or neurological function from what is considered typical or normal.

DO YOU ATTEND THERAPY?

AS A MAN OR A PERSON SOCIALIZED AS A MAN, HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD TO “MAN UP” OR SOMETHING SIMILAR IN RESPONSE TO YOUR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?

AS A WOMAN OR A PERSON SOCIALIZED AS A WOMAN, HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE “ALL IN YOUR HEAD”?

The Alestle surveyed the SIUE community through email with 557 responding.

EMILY STERZINGER Editor-in-Chief

GABRIEL BRADY Managing Editor

FRANCESCA BOSTON

Lifestyles Editor

BRUCE DARNELL

Sports Editor

DAMIAN MORRIS

Multimedia Editor

NICOLE BOYD

Editor

KIRSTEN O’LOUGHLIN Graphics Manager

ELIZABETH

DONALD

JANA HAMADE

AUDREY O’RENIC WILLIAM BANKS Copy Editors

TAMMY MERRETT Program Director

UDIT NALUKALA Circulation Manager

AMINA SEHIC Offi ce Clerk

ANGIE TROUT Offi ce Manager

DYLAN HEMBROUGH

CAMELA SHARP Reporters

WINTER RACINE

CHLOE WOLFE Photographers

THEA WELTZIN Illustrator

opinion@alestlelive.com