GYMHA

GLOBAL YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS (GYMHA) INC.

CREATING A WORLD WITHOUT STIGMA

By Dr David David

More than half of people with mental illness don’t receive help for their disorders. Often, people avoid or delay seeking treatment due to concerns about being treated differently or fears of losing their jobs and livelihood. That’s because stigma, prejudice and discrimination against people with mental illness is still very much a problem. People with mental illness are marginalized in various ways. But no matter the degree of subtleness or obviousness, it could lead to harm.

Stigma often comes from lack of understanding or fear. Inaccurate or misleading media representations of mental illness contribute to these factors. A review of studies on stigma shows that while the public may accept the medical or genetic nature of a mental health disorder and the need for treatment, many people still have a negative view of those with mental illness. Stigma not only directly affects individuals with mental illness, but also their family members and loved ones.

Global Youth Mental Health Awareness, GYMHA Incorporated, was established with a mission to Empower. Everyone should have someone to turn to in support of their mental health.

GYMHA helps in creating awareness of mental health issues and providing avenues to address and eradicate them. GYMHA’s vision was developed in response to the growing need to communicate and engage with professionals to tackle the issues associated with mental health.

Quite a number of people do not access mental health services because they are unaware of how to or where to get help. Lack of access can be due to misinformation about where to go or difficulty due to cultural or language barriers. That’s the reason GYMHA provides awareness and empower people with the right information on mental health. Awareness also eliminates stigma amongst the people. When people are aware of their limitations and strengths, stigma naturally disappears. Stigma is the opinions and thoughts of the community which shames the mentally ill. Global Youth Mental Health Awareness, GYMHA, through her network of trained psychologists, mental health experts and healthcare advocates assist to create a community which accepts those who are “different.”

Attitudes and behaviours move a community into either a positive or negative trend. If there is a negative trend, then the implications may cause a combination of denial and hatred. Therefore, GYMHA empowers the global community with programs and strategies that raise awareness on mental health issues.

GYMHA advocates making mental health issue a priority because of the high rate of mental crises in the world today, which in most cases lead to loss of lives. Many think the mentally ill are lazy or just making things up. There is also the attitude that these people are crazy, possessed by demons, violent, out of control or dangerous. These are negative labels that have been attached due to the lack of awareness. GYMHA believes the more awareness to normalise mental health, the less the loss of lives.

For GYMHA, awareness is key for understanding what mental health is, and how families can receive the help they need. Public knowledge is important in accessing community resources. Lack of awareness of mental health is not just “their” problem, it is a community problem. Global Youth Mental Health Awareness encourages the global community to be well informed about mental health issues as a way of life. To increase your knowledge on mental health issues, Global Youth Mental Health Awareness warmly welcomes you to the amazing GYMHA family. You can join GYMHA as a volunteer; attend health fairs, resource fairs, summits and more.

Talk to someone about this article and ask them to share it with someone else. Join GYMHA to start a domino effect for awareness on mental health. Don’t be scared to talk about it. You can get more information about the resources and services offered in GYMHA.

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