If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard the phrase “across for attention, down for results,” I would be eaten alongside Bezos. Sadly, however, I have never received monetary compensation for all the times my struggle with mental illness was mocked or turned into a meme. Instead, I was ostracized, called weird, or better yet, crazy. This article, however, isn’t about how the boys in my eighth-grade class told me to attempt again, but instead the prominence of mental illness and how difficult it is to get help.

Recognizing that you need help is always the hardest part. We want to believe that we have no flaws- that we are perfect. We want to deflect the blame to make ourselves feel better, but we can only do that for so long before we end up like Cheeto in Chief: narcissistic and denying that we need help. Recognizing that we are flawed is difficult, but realizing that we can’t do everything alone is even harder. For years, I neglected that I needed therapy and medication to keep me stable, and for years I thus struggled. I’ve messed up a lot, but my biggest mistake was not asking for help when I so desperately needed it. I was ashamed that I couldn’t fix myself. I was ashamed of having multiple mental illnesses. I was ashamed that I wasn’t like the other kids. I didn't realize that I shared this experience with many others. I am privileged enough to get help, but many others aren’t.

In fact, around one in five people aged 6-17 experience mental illness (NAMI). Out of those one in five adolescents, many of them are unable to get help. Our society and government prevent them from doing so. It’s taboo to see a therapist, but it’s normal for people to joke about OCD or Bipolar Disorder when they know nothing about it. People joke about starving themselves when they look at Zendaya, but call the people deteriorating to flesh and brittle bones freaks. They joke about depression and bully the kid with barcodes on their hips. This is not to say that I’m any better than the perpetrators, only that I’ve witnessed the two-faced approach on mental illness too many times. Someone posts a statistics board about mental health and how we need to talk about it, then gives you a judgmental look when you say that you go to therapy. In my experience, that look alone is more harmful than non-mentally-ill people can ever understand. 

On top of the social stigma, our government doesn’t help to make treatment any easier. According to the World Health Organization, America has the highest rate of mental illness. With only 40% of U.S. counties having licensed psychiatrists, and 13.4% of health insurances not covering mental health treatment (USA), that makes a lot of sense. When you don't have the resources to get better, everything else becomes a bit more daunting. The unemployment rate for people struggling with mental illness is higher, along with the rate of people with substance abuse, and homelessness. There are so few government programs to help people, while suicide remains the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 10-34 (NAMI). Being able to get treatment in this day and age is a privilege when it should be a right. Therapy shouldn’t have to be a luxury, nor should medication for those who need it. Asking for help shouldn’t be wrong.

So if you read this and you know someone who is struggling, reach out to them. You know how hard it is to make the first step.

Works Cited:

Mental disorders. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders

Mental Health By the Numbers | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.nami.org/mhstats

USA.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/profiles-2017/USA.pdf?ua=1