How One Simple Word Can Reduce the Stigma Around Mental Health Struggles
At RemedyLIVE we talk a lot about the stigma that surrounds mental health and what we can do to eliminate it. The stigma is that unspoken sort of force that clouds our ability to see those who struggle with mental health issues as regular people struggling with regular issues. We label people with mental illness and treat them as an inconvenience or disruption of daily normal life. Some go as far as being fearful of mental illness. Stigma is responsible for all of it.
But the good news is there is something we can do about it. The stigma can be broken. We can educate, normalize, and create meaningful conversations around the experiences that people have. The stigma around mental health struggles inhibits our ability and desire to look beyond the exterior behavior to the root of the story. Stigma has allowed us to react to the effects of sin in the world with our own sinful thoughts and actions.
But again the good news is that we can do something about it. Get rid of the stigma. But how? Two things.
First, ask a simple question: How are you, really?
Sounds easy right. It is. But the effect is powerful. Asking, “how are you?” is one thing. Asking, “how are you, really?”, is another. Adding one word connotes a greater level of care and concern. It tells the person that you’re not asking out of common curiosity or blind cultural convention, but out of genuine curiosity and care.
If we stop at asking “how are you?” we run the risk of doing nothing more than engaging in our western culture’s common exchange of pleasantries. We communicate to the other person an expected response of, “fine” or “good.”
Adding “really” to the question deepens the relationship because it creates a lasting impact. And in the mental health of our friends and family, positive relationships are critical to a more healthy mind. It forces you to stop and listen to the person’s response because by adding the word, really, you are inviting the response. Consequently, when a person opens the door to a deeper emotional connection, the relationship between the two of you is strengthened.
Second, Start a conversation
Most of us talk about the things we care about, the things we are interested in, and the things we are comfortable talking about. So naturally, when we talk about our mental health we become interested in it, we care about it, and we begin to become comfortable with it. Such an attitude communicates your care and helps create the kind of community that can offer hope and healing to someone who is struggling.
Click Here to Learn More About the Importance of Mental Health Conversations
Starting a conversation about mental health helps to remove the stigma, shame, and isolation mental health issues often bring. Conversations also create relationships built off of shared experiences and intimacy.
Just think for a minute about a newly dating couple. The thing that builds the greatest level of intimacy in the early stages of the relationship—that leads to lasting relationships—are the long talks that seemingly go on for hours. The more we talk and listen, the more we begin to build trust, and the more we begin to share. This is precisely why sharing our secret struggles is so critical to our mental wellness. It reminds us we aren’t alone and invites us into a shared experience with another person. And that takes us on a path to hope and healing.
