Here are some common myths about mental health and illnesses:
People with mental illness are violent and dangerous.
This myth is inaccurate and outdated. Statistically speaking, people with mental illness are no more violent or dangerous. In fact, they are more likely to be the victims of violence.
People with mental illness are more likely to commit crimes.
This is not true. However, people whose mental illnesses are left untreated and severe may end up in jail inadvertently.
People with mental illness are poor and/or less intelligent.
Mental illnesses can affect people of any intelligence or social class. It has nothing to do with intelligence. Some people with mental illness may find social interactions more difficult, which may make them appear less intelligent, but they are not actually less intelligent.
Mental illness is caused by a personal weakness and people who experience it just can’t handle stress.
People do not choose to become ill, they can not simply “snap out of it”, and they are not “just lazy”.
Mental illness is a single, rare disorder.
Mental illnesses include many disorders and affects thousands of Canadians.
Mental illnesses are not true illnesses, and people who have them are simply “weird” or “crazy”.
Mental illnesses are invisible and more difficult to detect than many other physical illnesses, but they are actual medical conditions involving physiological processes and brain chemistry.
People can’t recover from mental illnesses.
People can and do recover!
Kids and youths can’t have mental illnesses because those are adult problems.
One in five children/youth struggle with their mental health. The good news is that many of them do show significantly improvement with treatment.
Written by Jenny Li
References:
Myths About Mental Illness – Canadian Mental Health Association. “Canadian Mental Health Association. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.