Has mental illness stigma actually become worse not better over the decades?

[thetwilightzone]

I honesty believe that it was better to be depressed in the 60, 70s in the Western World because people didn't get bombarded with these "everyone goes through struggles" messages that in my opinion have de-legitimized things like depression, ADHD etc..

I've heard people treated you as an outcast if they heard that but in a way they probably thought you were actually mentally ill as opposed to being just lazy, selfish (very common nowadays). As well as that you didn't get the "exercise it off" platitudes that you get today.

That aside, doctors were lax with prescriptions so you got things like benzos and sometimes opiates for mental problems which is something I think most millenials growing up today (like me) will never understand. I've been prescribed benzos but I fucked the shit up and forged a prescription which meant I couldn't go back to the same G.P. Now the 2nd GP and psychiatrist I went to refuse to.

But what do you think?

 

[medusa]

I honesty believe that it was better to be depressed in the 60, 70s in the Western World because people didn't get bombarded with these "everyone goes through struggles" messages that in my opinion have de-legitimized things like depression, ADHD etc..

I've heard people treated you as an outcast if they heard that but in a way they probably thought you were actually mentally ill as opposed to being just lazy, selfish (very common nowadays). As well as that you didn't get the "exercise it off" platitudes that you get today.

That aside, doctors were lax with prescriptions so you got things like benzos and sometimes opiates for mental problems which is something I think most millenials growing up today (like me) will never understand. I've been prescribed benzos but I fucked the shit up and forged a prescription which meant I couldn't go back to the same G.P. Now the 2nd GP and psychiatrist I went to refuse to.

But what do you think?

. My parents grow up in the Soviet bloc and there, mental illness was just something that didn't really exist unless you were found on the street, covered in your own s*** and hearing voices that told you to kill others. Otherwise it was just something people dealt with privately through gambling and drinking. I wouldn't say it is better or worse, only different.

 

[Regisphilbin_savant]

I think its not progressing at all .governments refuse to allocate equal or similar funding to mental health creating a impression like heres 5 bucks get a burger Hope unjust go away kind atmosphere which then trickles down to society minimizing its effect irceven giving no care for it

 

[Final Escape]

Mental illness has become an industry lol! Many people aren't even really mentally ill but that doesn't mean that the symptoms and suffering aren't real. I remember being heavily medicated with stuff I didn't really need and it was not fun running out of pills all the time because u can't just run to the store to get more when u run out. It was easier to just not be on them.

 

[whatmattersmost]

I honesty believe that it was better to be depressed in the 60, 70s in the Western World because people didn't get bombarded with these "everyone goes through struggles" messages that in my opinion have de-legitimized things like depression, ADHD etc..

I've heard people treated you as an outcast if they heard that but in a way they probably thought you were actually mentally ill as opposed to being just lazy, selfish (very common nowadays). As well as that you didn't get the "exercise it off" platitudes that you get today.

That aside, doctors were lax with prescriptions so you got things like benzos and sometimes opiates for mental problems which is something I think most millenials growing up today (like me) will never understand. I've been prescribed benzos but I fucked the shit up and forged a prescription which meant I couldn't go back to the same G.P. Now the 2nd GP and psychiatrist I went to refuse to.

But what do you think?

I couldn't Agree more from what I've seen.
But the experiments they would do on You back then wouldn't be pleasant.
Now hospitals are just quick to give Meds & get you the Hell Out.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

Its different, but certainly not better. A lot of noise is made about accepting people with mental health issues but the professionals still have an antiquated view. If you are physically ill and it causes mental health problems, they will probably be very quick to jump on the fact that your illness is caused by your mental health rather than the other way around.

 

[lv-gras]

https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/jscp.1997.16.4.405

 

[medusa]

Mental illness has become an industry lol! Many people aren't even really mentally ill but that doesn't mean that the symptoms and suffering aren't real. I remember being heavily medicated with stuff I didn't really need and it was not fun running out of pills all the time because u can't just run to the store to get more when u run out. It was easier to just not be on them.

these days we take any kind of mental suffering and make an illness out of it.
Mental suffering is a normal part of life-people should go and get help if they want to but today we are so quick to call someone mentally ill. Every person I know has contemplated suicide at some point in their lives and they still go on to work, have families and not run amok.

 

[Caustic Cardinals]

I honesty believe that it was better to be depressed in the 60, 70s in the Western World because people didn't get bombarded with these "everyone goes through struggles" messages that in my opinion have de-legitimized things like depression, ADHD etc..

I've heard people treated you as an outcast if they heard that but in a way they probably thought you were actually mentally ill as opposed to being just lazy, selfish (very common nowadays). As well as that you didn't get the "exercise it off" platitudes that you get today.

That aside, doctors were lax with prescriptions so you got things like benzos and sometimes opiates for mental problems which is something I think most millenials growing up today (like me) will never understand. I've been prescribed benzos but I fucked the shit up and forged a prescription which meant I couldn't go back to the same G.P. Now the 2nd GP and psychiatrist I went to refuse to.

But what do you think?

I think i depends on the subject,

 

[thetwilightzone]

these days we take any kind of mental suffering and make an illness out of it.
Mental suffering is a normal part of life-people should go and get help if they want to but today we are so quick to call someone mentally ill. Every person I know has contemplated suicide at some point in their lives and they still go on to work, have families and not run amok.

What do you mean?

 

[throwaway123]

It's always been like this. Shit never changes.

 

[Nofaith]

I think there is more awareness now, however the attitudes are still the same. The treatments are the same. There are more services available to young people that was non existant 20 years ago. However funding is being cut everyday. Waiting lists are longer and you don't get the full support. There was a time, you could get help before being everything went to sh*t. But now it's very difficult to get help, before you are in serious crisis.

 

[Regisphilbin_savant]

Even when you are hospitalized you arent given competent care and the goal is generally let's treats the m somehow and get them back out to society.certainly part of that attitude is lack of adequate resource s given to mental health but its also one of lets just get these people out way they are a nuisance ,inconvenience.

 

[PatKat]

I honesty believe that it was better to be depressed in the 60, 70s in the Western World because people didn't get bombarded with these "everyone goes through struggles" messages that in my opinion have de-legitimized things like depression, ADHD etc..

I've heard people treated you as an outcast if they heard that but in a way they probably thought you were actually mentally ill as opposed to being just lazy, selfish (very common nowadays). As well as that you didn't get the "exercise it off" platitudes that you get today.

That aside, doctors were lax with prescriptions so you got things like benzos and sometimes opiates for mental problems which is something I think most millenials growing up today (like me) will never understand. I've been prescribed benzos but I fucked the shit up and forged a prescription which meant I couldn't go back to the same G.P. Now the 2nd GP and psychiatrist I went to refuse to.

But what do you think?

I dont know back then didnt they give lobotomies and give electric shock therapy?

 

[ScaredOfLife]

I dont know back then didnt they give lobotomies and give electric shock therapy?

They still give electric shock therapy. I've had 26 sessions of it. However, I do think these days it is more humane, and mine were voluntary.

 

[Trashcan]

I agree with you, TwilightZone. Another thing is people believe that those with mental illnesses are self-diagnosed and just trying to be "trendy" or "unique." Stigma these days is not better or worse than it was, just different. I was also surprised by how many mental health professionals buy into it.

 

[Trashcan]

I think there is more awareness now, however the attitudes are still the same. The treatments are the same. There are more services available to young people that was non existant 20 years ago. However funding is being cut everyday. Waiting lists are longer and you don't get the full support. There was a time, you could get help before being everything went to sh*t. But now it's very difficult to get help, before you are in serious crisis.

So true and the older you are, the less resources you have. Even when you're young (I first started getting help at 13) there are tons of bad professionals. But there were more resources out there than there were after I turned 18.

 

[Going Home]

The stigma is worse and I think they still experiment with the mentally ill people without permission.

 

[FullFat]

They still give electric shock therapy. I've had 26 sessions of it. However, I do think these days it is more humane, and mine were voluntary.

Wow, since you got it so many times, can we assume that it helped? Did you get the memory loss side effects?

 

[ScaredOfLife]

Wow, since you got it so many times, can we assume that it helped? Did you get the memory loss side effects?

It did help, but it doesn't help for long. That's why I had to keep going back. I'd still be getting them if it weren't for the fact that I lost so much of my memory. Also, it seemed like towards the end it didn't help as much like it did in the beginning, as if my brain got tired of it. But, I've heard of people who have had over 100 sessions who keep getting it done.

 

[FullFat]

I think most of what's wrong today with mental health messages can be laid at the feet of the self-help industry. Too many people believe you can just will negative thoughts away. This has been legitimized and routinized in the form of cognitive behavioral therapy, and all of the helpful parts of it too often get buried under the same old blame game we hear all the time outside this site.

There are a few reasons I think CTB has come to dominate the mental health space and become warped in the process of its ascent. One that I don't think is discussed enough has to do with how people have adapted to the absurd price of mental healthcare and lack of availability. Everybody and their mom knows mental healthcare is underfunded, but that's only focusing on one side of the equation. Like alternative medicine, the self-help strategy means people can spend less money. Compare the price of a self-help book to therapy even with insurance and the difference is stark. People want to believe that they can save themselves because that's their only option. Unfortunately, this creates a positive feedback loop whereby the more people jump on the self-help bandwagon by necessity, the more efforts to secure affordable mental healthcare are delegitimized.

The poison of the self-help movement permeates other areas as well, and the ultimate cause is still economic. For example, every time an underpaid, poorly treated worker complains about their shitty employer, a whole slew of judgmental fucks shout them down for having a "victim complex", which is so completely backwards that it's actually funny. What could possibly be more complacent and victim-like than staying silent and just taking it when someone abuses you? But no, you are not supposed to question why you are being abused. You're just supposed to keep going and pull yourself up by your bootstraps, frayed laces, torn up soles and all while your boss laughs.

The self-help movement only helps those who don't need any help - whether it be in mental health, money, succes, what have you. It convinces the have-nots that it's all their fault and no one is obligated to help.

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

The world is so pathetic and misguided it makes me want to puke. Apparently, the US has spent 2.5 trillion dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at this point, but I'll be damned if I can get any sort of effective mental health treatment when I need it.

If anyone has had the misfortune of attempting to seek treatment you'll know what I mean - refusal to accept new patients, dismissive behavior, insurance woes, expensive co-pays/high deductibles, bureaucratic bullshit, red tape, blah blah blah. Just make it stop.

Even if you do get help, it's all pitifully inadequate. And if anything, I think the mental health stigma is even worse these days because we live in a picture perfect Facebook/Instagram world, where everyone's doing awesomely. There's so much fakery and bullshit out there. It's in such stark contrast to the harsh reality that people like us have to face.