It’s 2020, and we still are having trouble talking about one thing: mental health. I tend to describe mental health as the health of your state of mind. People tend to say, “oh, she is crazy” or,  “wow, he is such a psychopath” in daily commentary. Why is it so hard? Why do we stereotype it so much? Stigmas are very dehumanizing and disrespectful as they create a bias towards a certain characteristic or trait, such as having a mental disorder. As a society, mental health should be taken just as seriously as physical health. Did you know that one in twenty five people have a serious mental illness? Think about your high school class; one person in that math class was, and most likely still is, dealing with a major mental health issue, such as bipolar disorder or severe depression. People daily are battling mental disorders, poor mental health, and much more, and these people are suffering significantly.

There is a stigma towards people with mental health issues. This problem affects anyone, any age, any race, any gender, and any place in the world. A lot get embarrassed to talk about it because they feel that they are “crazy”, and many do not understand what it feels like, so they try to ignore it as well. Also, many think that mental health is a made-up construct and that it is something people can easily fix on their own, versus it actually being a medical issue. People with mental health problems deal with bullying and lack of understanding from people, which can lead to further challenges they have to face. Mental health needs to be talked about more open-mindedly and respectfully; just because people are battling an issue within themselves, versus a visible physical injury, does not mean that there is not a huge battle needing to be faced and conquered. Mental health problems are just as hard to overcome as a physical health problem.