I'm reposting this with permission from Maggie McGary. She shares an interesting perspective on mental health care in this post. You can learn more about Maggie on her blog Mizz Information. I also recommend taking a look at 10+ Photos that Prove Depression Has No Face.
MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA WHEN YOU’RE NOT A CELEBRITY OR A TEEN
Mental health has had a banner few weeks in the news and across the internet–at least when the news centers around celebrities or teens. Sinead O’Connor and Justin Bieber made headlines about their battles with depression and mental illness and Diply applauded a list of celebrities who have shared their struggles with mental illness. Two teens were lauded for documentaries about mental illness: one praised for his film raising awareness about mental illness and another whose documentary about suicide won the top prize at a film festival. Headlines like “Young People On ‘Brink Of The Worst Mental Health Crisis In Decades,’” and “Teen suicides now outnumber homicides,” and “Suicide Rate for Teen Girls Hits 40-Year High” are just a few of the too-many-to-list recent news items showcasing how teens are battling depression that make it feel–at least to me–that somehow the world is getting the message that teens are the only ones impacted by mental health issues…well, teens and celebrities.
All this buzz about mental health issues is great, but to me it just highlights a disparity I’ve already written about: the what-feels-like-a-growing-chasm between mental health stigma among celebrities and teens and then among GenX and older generations. While teens and millennials are doing a great job of being open about mental illness in an effort to stop the stigma that surrounds the subject, those of us who grew up being told that mental illness is a shameful secret that you better never tell anyone about or you’ll be labeled crazy, ostracized and probably lose your job…for us, it’s not that simple.