Trigger warning: this article mentions depression and suicidality.
Arguably, one of the worst stigmas to exist in the mental health community is the belief that sufferers of mental health issues will “just get better”. This, in turn, can end up harming the victim. Time, in such cases, does not always heal and often makes things worse. Mental health is much like any other physical health issue in which a medical professional must be consulted.
The patient may well be reluctant as is to get treatment in the first place. By telling them that they will “just get better”, the issue is downplayed and undermined. A key issue evident in the MENA region is that we often tend to brush things off and suppress our problems. However, that cannot be done with mental health as treatment may well be one of the only ways to get better.
Why is “just getting over” mental health issues not possible?
Mental health problems and disorders tend to have a biological basis due to an imbalance of hormones in which the brain is in control – not the sufferer. Take depression as an example; around 264 million people suffer from depression. Depression is not something that you can “just get over” by deciding that you are done being sad. There are chemicals in your brain that need to maintain a very delicate balance to help you feel happy. An issue arises because nearly 50% of people that experience symptoms of do not seek help. This can often be dangerous as one of the symptoms includes suicidal thoughts.
Your environment and relationships affect how you feel. If you are constantly surrounded by unhealthy things, it can make it difficult to get better. Like with substance abuse and addiction, the environment you are surrounded by is crucial for recovery, and the wrong environment can hinder progress and even trigger relapses.
Oftentimes, trauma and loss impact your brain’s response and are beyond control. When these experiences happen, it is difficult to live life as you did before the event.
People often do not know all of the reasons as to why they feel the way that they feel or act a certain way, and it is a big task to carry out alone. Thus, seeking help from a professional can enable you to properly identify how you feel and recover. Many people often do not have the education or skill to get better because they do not know how to care for themselves. This is where educating yourself about mental health disorders can go a long way.