Mental Health Stigmas - Barrier to Seeking Help?

The stigma attached to mental health ailments is obvious in my opinion.  I call them Mental Health Ailments because it is no different then a broken arm.   I read recently that the medical profession equates Depression to the Common Cold. Intereseting....

I think it is important to mention the labels and stigmatization that is attached to coming forward with a mental issue.  Be it depression, feelings of suicide, ADD, ADHD, or any other illness that messes with our brains emotional regulation. 

Is the stigma society places on mental illness a barrier to seeking help? This is a question that I have pondered.

I have mentioned this slippery slope to falling off of the mental deep end. It didn't happen spontaneously, so why did I not seek help earlier. Answer....I didn't want to be labeled as a nut bar!  I didn't want to tarnish my professional reputation.  I told myself, I can handle it, I'm a man, men handle shit. They don't ask for help. Those were a sample of my rationalizations to not seeking help earlier on.

The most powerful barrier for me was the admission that I had a mental problem and the perceived judgement or stigma that I thought society would cast upon me.

This is a problem.  I know they  have mental awareness months. It just never appealed to me, until lately, for obvious reasons.

I have worked in the medical community for most of my adult life. I hear the judgments, thoughts and perceptions people have towards the mentally ill. It is revolting.  Your brain is an organ, and one of the most complex ones in the human body, so it makes sense that something can go haywire.

In terms of diabetes, I have said this before, it is often last on the agenda in the management of diabetes. It should be first, because where the brain goes, the body will follow.

So what do you think?  Does a stigma exist in society and if so does it impede the prompt pursuit of help from those in need?

Trev

Momentary Lapse of Reason - Now What?

Great Album from Pink Floyd by the way.

What now? Why did I fall so deep? These are questions for me to explore. I want the spring back in my step, the passion back, but I feel like I am trudging through thick mud.  Everything is an effort.  Like being stuck in quicksand, reaching for a branch to grab a hold of and pull my self out. 

I have blogged about diabetes and mental health on Three 2 Treat numerous times; a few posts come to mind: Mood and Diabetes - What Gives!,  a few of my later posts like, Throw in the Towel Already! and most recently a, Letter of Resignation.

Were these signs that maybe I was on a slippery slope to deterioarating mental health or extreme burnout? Who knows.  

My momentary lapse in rational thinking scared the living shit out of me. Hindsight is not entirely twenty twenty at this point in time. However, I am astutely aware of what I was capable of doing, and also what I would have lost.

I hope to learn from this experience. I hope to share this with all who are willing to read this. I am not writing this for simpathy; but to express my self, and hopefully avert a future episode for myself or for another overwhelmed soul dealing with a chronic disease like diabetes who feels like there are no other options.

As my friend said (my dear friend) there are always options. Just pause long enough, and they will surface and present themselves. Always. Time, is alway ticking, but this is a good thing, as time allows us to ponder options, and some options obviously have better outcomes then others.

So in my case, and I am sure I am not alone. There was a moment where my  thoughts weren't rationale, or a momentary lapse of reason.. 

A "moment" by my definition is a temporary period in time, that inevitably passes. Thank god, my momantary lapse of irationale thinking passed uneventfully, allowing me to move forward in time to the next moment.

 Hopefully it will be a moment of mental clarity, one that is future oriented, one filled with joy, love, success, and life.

But what saved my ass in this crisis?  Luck amd a perceptive friend. 

What now? 

My own insight into what transpired, I guess.  A willingnes to seek help.  I have seen my physician, I have booked counselling, I am not ashamed to seek help. Talking and sharing is good.

Yes, even if you are a man. See my humour is still present, however lame.

Next I will look into resources I should have accessed prior to this event.

Thanks for letting me share.

Trev

PS:  If you are feeling desperate reach out.  Seriously!