Mental Illnesses: Is There a Social Stigma?
Many people with a mental illness face a social stigma that needs to be stopped.
Dear Future President,
Imagine if you had a mental illness. Your life would probably be hard enough as it was. Unfortunately, these people have more struggles than just their disorder. There is also a large social stigma that they have to deal with daily. I am writing this as the next generation of voters, trying to make a change however I can. I want to change the fact that many people who have a mental illness face a social stigma, and have a harder time in society.
Studies have shown that 18% of American adults and more than 50% of children aged 13 to 18 have a mental illness. This means that the majority of children and one in five adults have one of these disorders. It matters because mental illnesses are not just a problem that affects a small few. With this many people affected, it is a large problem.
In the olden times, mental illnesses were thought to be a sign of demonic possession, and treated as such. Although most people do not believe this today, many treat these disorders as signs a person is cruel or rude. Studies have shown that many people with a mental illness feel forms of ignorance and prejudice. Adding to that, only 25% of these people feel supported by other people. This means that out of all the people who have one of these disorders, only a few of them feel supported. All these people feel alone, when we could easily encourage them.
Some people may say that these people are supported, and that they just don’t feel like they are, but this is not entirely true. Studies show that people with a mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence. This means that 50% of children and 18% of adults could easily be victims of an act of violence. This matters because we could cut down incidences at least a little if we fixed this. Everyone’s happiness matters.
There are many solutions to this, but to start, we could put funding into more support groups, medicine, and other things for the mentally ill. You can’t fix society, but we can do some things to help.
Everyone deserves to have a nice life with opportunities for them. No matter who they are, or where they come from, everyone deserves this. People with mental disorders face a social stigma and many other struggles in life. We can stop this. Let’s make a change.
Sincerely,
Katie M.