A Hidden P*ndemic
Mental Illness is by far one of the most prominent issues facing the American people. Nearly any person you may interact with, whether they are complete strangers to your loved ones have been faced with one or more mental ailments. Moreover, there is a specific mental disease that has spread very casually right beneath the American public. One that has taken a domain through media and our own culture. The name? Desensitization and its consequences.
As previously stated, it should be hard for many to digest the fact that the people they are closest to may or may not have a type of mental illness. But it isn’t. In fact somehow, mental illness such as depression and anxiety are so commonplace it’s accepted as normal. This normalcy that has taken hold on our society has led to a mass desensitization on the matter for a majority of victims. Why I come to believe this observation is a huge problem is for the following two reasons: there will be an exponential growth of more victims that aren't taken seriously and while this occurs, the severity of mental illnesses will also become worse. This is only the tip of the iceberg of how much of a larger issue it is.
At this point I’m sure you’re asking yourself what the actual numbers are and for the statisticians out there, here you go: In 2019 there was an estimated 51.5 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States with AMI (Any Mental Illness). This number represented 20.6% of all U.S. adults. Despite this number, it doesn’t even account for the myriad of Americans that self diagnose themselves or even come forth on their issues due to fear of stigma. Ironic, considering the past couple of decades there has been so much attention to mental illness. So, whose fault is it?
Desensitization has led to taking away responsibility; on a professional level to a personal one. Because it’s so normalized in our culture most people are encouraged to take the route of least resistance and choose what helps them “feel” better. Some don’t confront it at all. As I already mentioned, I’d even go as far as to say professionals are just as guilty as the people who don’t take action on these problems. Victims of mental illness of every type as patients are referred to prescription drugs more than ever than occupational therapy. By no means am I making the claim no one should have access to medication, but I’m rather willing to make the bet that Doctors and Psychiatrists alike prefer this approach first. In severe cases I could see this being a tremendous aid to the process, but there is an unnecessary amount of over reliance in medication. I’m not surprised to see a monopoly and over dependence on the pharmaceutical industry because of this, but I digress. It’s easy to be ”woke” and break down our spectrum of emotions and consciousness to chemical reactions, but once again that just proves my point. It’s a desensitization of the human experience and contributes nothing.
You may recall the story of Jewel Shuping. She was the woman who blinded herself with bleach at the behest of her psychologist that enabled her to do so, specifically because she wanted it. Anyone could argue what they want with me on the matter, I still view it as a sign of malpractice because it was a prioritization on how the patient felt as opposed to alleviating the issue. The psychologist was responsible for guiding the patient to better alternatives for their health and chose to not do that. The point that I’m making is, overtime we allowed this desensitization of mental illness to take root to a point of foregoing responsibility on taking better action.
The foregoing of responsibility is the worst outcome of a culture that is desensitized of victims with Mental Illnesses. There are often times in our lives that despite how “good” people may have it, tragedy occurs that isn’t their fault. In fact a lot of horrible things can happen to people that isn't their fault that is very much in fact, traumatizing. More Often than not, this is the factor that dips people into depression and anxiety namely. There’s no other way to describe the feeling: It sucks. It sucks and for a lot of people it will remain with them for the rest of their life. It doesn't have to be this way though and that’s exactly what I fear about these continued ideas in the world of psychology. To quote Mark Manson, “Just because something's not your fault doesn't mean it's not your responsibility. Our ability to act and change is proportional to the amount of responsibility we take on for ourselves.” The foundation of this idea is that at the end of the day we still have a choice no matter how unstably sound most may be, especially if they can be guided. Due to today’s desensitized culture, both victims and professionals alike fail to uphold this truth.
There’s only one call of action that needs to be made and that is support within your own community and in yourself. Desensitization can only be faced with acknowledging the severity of a mental condition and taking the step to be responsible in handling it. I don't need to be a professional to give this kind of advice but that’s really what all it takes. Change is a process that is painful but essential for progress, but it doesn’t have to be done alone That’s where the community part comes in and where you come in. If everyone were to assume responsibility in supporting their close loved ones to complete strangers in this process, things would be different. If you did it for yourself, you’d have an entirely better outlook on the possibilities this world has to offer.
If you find this article to be somewhat relatable to whatever you may find yourself going through: You are loved, you are loved so much more than you can imagine. And if you feel alone, there’s always something you can do.