Mental Health Misconceptions
February, 2024
There are so many misconceptions about mental health that are believed to be true by the majority of modern day society. Yes, overall, we are progressing. This is something to be acknowledged. However, there is still so much work to be done in breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health, and still so much room for improvement in regards to how we construe mental health in general. Below, I’ve listed just a subset of common mental health misconceptions, and I’ve broken down the falsity of these claims.
Misconception: There is no underlying scientific cause for mental illness. The person affected chooses to be affected—i.e., depressed people can just “choose to be happier,” or someone with anxiety can just “choose to worry less.”
Reality: Nobody “chooses” their mental illness. Broadly speaking, it is absolutely true that a variety of environmental factors can contribute to the development of a mental illness. More specifically, it is also true that mental illness has a neuroscientific basis. Mental illnesses are founded in altered brain chemistry. Certain neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, play key roles in regulating our moods. As a scientist, who studied Neuroscience in school, I can tell you that a number of things can happen on the brain-chemistry level that can cause changes in the way we perceive the world, and in our baseline moods. Our levels of essential neurotransmitters, for example, may stray from the norm. Our brains may become more or less responsive to these neurotransmitters. Certain areas of our brains can become overactive or under-active, thereby eliciting emotions that would normally not be heightened. Each of these occurrences can be underlying causes of mental illnesses.
Misconception: One can only seek treatment for their mental illness if the illness is life-threatening, or so severe that daily routines are an immense struggle.
Reality: Anyone who struggles with mental health deserves to seek help, and absolutely should. Your mental illness does not need to be an extreme case to warrant seeking help and support. Every person who suffers, whether it be a small amount or a great deal, is worthy of receiving care. I urge anyone experiencing any type of mental health concern to seek support as soon as possible. When left untreated, mental illnesses have a tendency to grow, and that is something to fight against, if possible. Seek support early, and face these issues head-on. It might be scary, but I promise you, it is beyond worth it.
Misconception: Depressed people are just sad. Anxious people are just stressed. Those with bipolar disorder just have mood swings.
Reality: Mental illnesses are incredibly complex. There is a depth to them that many who don’t have lived experiences with mental health do not understand. Mental illnesses also can manifest themselves in a variety of different ways, for different people. Though it is true that many have similar or shared symptoms, if you look closely, everyone is affected differently. Everyone has their own stories, their own unique manifestations of their struggles, and their own paths towards recovery and/or management of symptoms. Mental health conditions cannot be boiled down to blanket statements or single symptoms.
Misconception: Having a mental illness means that there is something wrong with you as a person. That you are weak, or that your character is flawed.
Reality: Even writing the above misconception got me riled up! This is one that I believe our society struggles with greatly, and it angers me that there are so many people out there who believe this to be true. As I already mentioned, no one “chooses” to have a mental illness. Mental illnesses are illnesses. If someone were diagnosed with the common cold, or the flu, no one would say that their character is flawed, or that they’re weak for getting sick. The same should hold true for mental illnesses. Mental illnesses mean absolutely nothing about the people that they affect, except that they suffer from an illness, and deserve treatment for that illness.
Misconception: Only a subset of the population (ie, white, straight women) experience mental illnesses.
Reality: ANYONE can experience mental illness. Men can experience mental illness. Members of the LGBTQIA community can experience mental illness. Those who are BIPOC can experience mental illness. It is an incredible disservice to a large portion of the population to say that only white people can struggle with mental illness, or only women women struggle with mental illness, etc. Not only can anyone struggle with mental illness, but EVERYONE, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender, deserves to receive the same standard of care for any struggles with mental health. It is a sad reality that certain subsets of the population are taken more seriously when it comes to mental health treatment and mental health diagnoses. Let’s do better.
Misconception: Everyone with an eating disorder is glaringly thin.
Reality: There is no one “look” to eating disorders. First of all, when most people think of eating disorders, they think of anorexia. They then associate the above misconception with this illness. Not only do eating disorders not have a look, but anorexia doesn’t have a look either!! People of all shapes and sizes can be diagnosed with anorexia. It is quite honestly ridiculous that the term “atypical anorexia” exists. This term refers to someone in a larger body suffering from anorexia. If someone in a larger body has anorexia, then they have anorexia, and that’s that. It shouldn’t have to be labelled “atypical.” Furthermore, there are several different types of eating disorders outside of anorexia, and they can exist in people of any body type. If someone shares that they have an eating disorder, and you think to yourself— “How could they have an eating disorder? They don’t look like they do!”—remember the reality. Eating disorders do not have a look, and you can’t always tell from the outside what someone is experiencing internally. Eating disorders are mental illnesses that MAY have physical manifestations.
I hope that reading this has helped you to view mental health in a different light, and/or think more carefully about how you view mental health, and whether that view is accurate. There are many more misconceptions out there, and this is meant to serve only as a starting point for thinking about how we can progress together to unpack what mental health really is, what it involves, and how it affects those who suffer.