Mental illness affects everyone, everywhere. The fact is, it is prevalent in all of our lives. Yet, even though it surrounds us, we’re scared of it. We see mental illness in our lives every day, whether it is someone on the street or someone we are close to. Unfortunately, most mental disorders are not viewed or treated as diseases. It is time we stop looking the other way. It is time that we learn that having a mental disorder doesn’t mean you’re a criminal, dangerous, or homeless. It is time to speak up. If we begin to eliminate the stigma attached to mental illness, hundreds of thousands of sufferers will be more able to seek the help they need. The stakes are high; this stigma is taking lives.

Many continue to view mental illness as a taboo. It makes them uncomfortable to talk about it. Although some mental disorders may keep sufferers from functioning, most of the afflicted are everyday people. Whether it is schizophrenia or anxiety or bipolar disorder, millions of people live with these problems. Society has long-held beliefs when it comes to mental illnesses, for example, that mentally ill people are dangerous and difficult to talk to. Also, many people still believe that mental illnesses are personal weaknesses or a sign of bad character. With stigmas like this, it makes sense that those suffering would choose to stay quiet. But they shouldn’t have to.

The mentally ill are family members, neighbors, and friends. So why do we continue to treat them like outsiders? We tend to be afraid of things that we don’t understand. That is completely natural but easily changed. More education about what causes mental disorders could change how society views them. If we talked about mental illness in a factual way on a regular basis, it would make it a lot less taboo. If we continue to ignore this problem, we will continue to lose loved ones to it.

If people stay quiet about their illnesses, it makes them easy to ignore. In recent years some sufferers have begun to speak out and it has made quite an impact. Mental illness awareness has definitely come a long way in the past few years, but it still has a long way to go.

To eliminate the stigma, there are a few things we can all do. The most important is to become educated about it and help others to be also. No one chooses to have a disease, and diseases of the brain are no different. Always be willing to listen to those in need. Support those with mental illness as they confront their disease. Never judge a person by their diagnosis; they are not defined by their illness.