Quote:
Originally Posted by peter12
I bet you felt pretty important writing that down. As a social issue, I fail to see how public awareness campaign for "mental health" will have a demonstrable impact on solving a problem. The reason is that I do not think there is as large a problem as the media, and most others make out of it.
I am almost entirely certain that a large portion of mental health issues are along the lines of depression, general anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder. All of these are easily treated by exercise, and social activities. In more extreme cases, cognitive behavioural therapy is a proven avenue for successful treatment. Only in the absolute extreme minority of cases should pharmaceutical intervention be necessary.
I think that most people just see their mental health as an outcrop of how unsatisfying their lives are, and instead of seeking adequate treatment, choose instead to label it as a disease. We are pathologizing a whole host of moods as disorders.
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Seeing the bolded, I'm really having a hard time believe that you view mental illnesses to be as insignificant as they are. If exercise and social activities are truly that simple, why is it there are still an alarming rate of people who suffer from these 'typical' illnesses yet still go through all that you've mentioned? From trying to find the physical exercise, social interaction and even counselling, mental illnesses are not as easily solved as you think they should be. Mental illnesses in themselves can be a problem as well as being another layer to underlying problems which compounds each other into a dark cycle.
I hardly doubt that for a person who suffers from a form of mental illness, that if they were given a choice, would never ever choose to have that kind of illness in the first place.
The awareness campigns are necessary to get away from the attitudes and stigmas that degrade a person for something they would clearly want to be rid of. While you may feel that the mental illnesses are a copout for some people to simple treatments, the perspective these individuals go through are very much real to them and that is what we need to recognize as a fellow human.