It’s Time To Remove The Stigma On Mental Health

Photo: by Dr Zeina Assaf Moukarzel. The impact on light on happiness-Montreal- Place des Arts

By Reem El-Baba

Let’s take this random scenario: You have an accident while playing sports and break a leg that was a little fragile. It hurts and you can’t leave the house. You make the impossible to hide, you avoid your friends and family because you are embarrassed. You slipped and broke a bone. Mortifying.

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You might say: come on! this won’t happen, it’s simply a broken leg. And we can bet that this scenario would never occur. Because why would you be embarrassed? It’s a broken bone and these incidents happen.

The only difference between having a mental illness and a broken bone is that the latter is physical. You can simply scan your leg to check the severity and the time it needs to heal. So then think about this: when it comes to mental illness, why do we not take the same approach? why do we hide and feel shameful for feeling the way we do? why would you see your therapist and claim to your friends that you’re passing by the dentist’s office? why would you feel bad for having a mental health problem?

But what if you’re feeling depressed? If you have anxiety? What bandage can you wear to ‘show’ it and make it feel okay to talk about your emotions?

On another matter, would you like to know if you are an empathetic person or a sympathetic one? People often interchangeably use the expression “highly sensitive person” with an “empathetic person”. If you are empathetic, you would have similar qualities such as the ability to understand other people’s emotions, the love of nature, desire to help others, and rich inner life. But, there are subtle differences: an empathetic person takes the highly sensitive person’s experiences much further. If you feel and sense energies (auras) around you then you are considered “innately” empathetic. Don’t get me wrong, you can be mindful and improve your empathetic qualities.

The energies mentioned includes emotions and physical sensations, and are able to internalize the feelings and pain of others. Also, empathetic individuals may have spiritual (not necessarily religious) and intuitive experiences which aren’t usually associated with highly sensitive people. Some are able to communicate with animals and nature for example (no, they are not necessarily psychotic).

In conclusion, it’s okay to speak up, and it’s absolutely okay to break the taboo.