With the popularization of medical knowledge in recent years, people have gained a better understanding of mental disorders. However, many still hold biases against individuals with mental disorders, leading to strong feelings of shame among patients and their families. Additionally, there are still many who cannot identify the signs and symptoms of mental illness.
Shame affects treatment rates
Many individuals with mental disorders can be treated. However, various reasons contribute to the fact that the treatment rates for mental disorders are not very high. Some patients and their families, due to lack of understanding of mental illness, overlook symptoms. Some patients avoid facing the truth, delaying seeking treatment for years, and some even do not seek treatment at all, letting the condition worsen.
Mental illness is a medical condition that can be prevented and treated. Mental illness is absolutely not a sign of weakness. However, the stigmatization, prejudice, and discrimination against mental illness in society create obstacles to prevention and treatment.
As a result, patients fear and resist seeking medical help, and society, due to lack of understanding and misunderstandings, exacerbates harm to patients. These misunderstandings are the “heart diseases” that cannot be treated with medication. Therefore, it is important to have a correct understanding of mental illness, not to view mental disorders with a judgmental eye, and together establish a social environment that can provide treatment and support for patients.
