5 minute read
Family and Mental Health
Local perspectives - Local Life
Author: Isidora Arampatzi
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Usually nowadays, when someone hears the phrase “healthy person” immediately understands that there is a healthy person, without any organic illness or physical damage. However, health is associated with mental health as well. For decades mental health is an enormous taboo that remains an unsolved problem. 1 of 10 adults still suffers from mental illness but also 1 child of 5 has mental health disease.
How does mental health affect the members of the family?
A lot of scientific articles show that the routine and the everyday schedule of a family changes profoundly. For example, especially when the children are young, the affection is much more because on their own cannot handle their crisis, they are not able even to understand the reasons why their behavior changes. So, parents are responsible for giving the right medications and accepting all the crises, the nerves, the pain, and the absurd thoughts/ actions. The level of stress is huge as well as the half-knowledge of mental illnesses. More and more fights between the parents, and misunderstandings between parents- children are the least of the situations that are caused by mental health.
Although the generations, during the past years are always growing in and out, most of the adults that have kids with mental illness are the main suspects of her deterioration. Parents are afraid of facing that common “demon”. Most of the time, according to university studies, parents tend to reject their children, mock them, or in some situations, do not give them any attention at all, which leads to inappropriate behaviors. Children feel that they are incapable of being alive (which leads to suicide or more depression) and do not have the will to take their medication. They are obliged to follow inadequate treatments such as electrotherapy, and heavy doses of placebo medicines. Especially the young people who had illnesses such as schizophrenia, manic tendencies or paranoia, used to be in a terrible clinical image due to the uninterested parents and doctors!
How does society affect mental health?
Another thing that could be interesting to speak about is the stigma. Not only children but also a great number of young adults are worried about their mental issues and how society will understand their problems. Is known that in many countries in Europe and Asia society treats mentally ill people like aliens, heartless, and mean. They make them feel unwanted, unloved, and useless. These feelings are the most painful of all and cannot be controlled.
More and more people are closed to themselves, do not go to psychologists or psychiatrists, try to find solutions inappropriate for their condition, or take medicines that make them worse. The feelings of fear and shame, are 2 of the main causes that damage not only the body but also the mind, and the soul. Not everyone is strong enough to speak up. The people who do not even know how a mental disease affects someone tend to criticize strongly and badly those who struggle. They believe that someone to be known or famous will fake an illness or tell lies about their lives and experiences. The holy truth is that, although a small number of people actually want to help, due to little knowledge as mentioned before, unstable and rational thoughts, the situation stays the same.
How society can truly help mentally ill people.
How can society help?? Of course, by educating! Malcolm Forbes once said that “the purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open mind.” Also, Maya Angelou says “do your best until you know. Then when you learn better, do the best”. Bearing in mind those two sayings, society must create the right conditions for young people and the older ones to be able to adopt a new way of thinking, expressing, and understanding all kinds of feelings that mentally ill people have and bother them.
Education could be a start, in schools. Students will learn how to communicate properly and stop bullying people with mental health problems. They could be more mature and have empathy. Specialists like psychologists can make sessions or mentor in schools. Students also could have a field trip to some psychiatric hospitals and have the chance to talk with the patients and learn more about their conditions. School can help parents and children to not be afraid anymore, to feel free to speak about that kind of disease. People should know how to ask for help, be proud of reaching out, or try to be better and healthy.
In my opinion, mental health is a very hard and important issue that must be without any taboos. In my whole life, I can feel the pain of abandonment, rejection, their confusion. Through a lot of discussions with psychiatric patients, I came up with a conclusion…the only free thing we all can do is to open our hearts, brains, and ears. Everyone needs love. Needs understandings. Needs a healthy family and a mental healthy life. For the closing…yes mum and dad…I have everything when I have my mental health stable!
