When I was younger, I had OCD, or over compulsive disorder, where I would

have to step into a room sixteen times before entering, or check that all doors were
locked three times in an orderly fashion before I could go to bed. There was no
reason to support my actions, I just felt compelled to do it, or otherwise my
incautiousness would cause harm to my family. Clearly most people dont worry
about such subtle details, but for some reason I did. Mental illness is a huge issue in
todays society that is thought to be an easily escapable problem. But its not, its a
medically disruptive disease that prevents normal human functions. When I say
mental illness I am talking about depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia,
eating disorders, and addictive behaviors. It typically strikes young people in their
most productive year, 16-25, our ages. So, in order to effectively help those with
these obstacles, its crucial to understand exactly what mental illness is, the effects
it has on individuals, and the outlook one should have towards mental illnesses in
order to help another function with their differences.
So, what is mental illness? To put it simply and in general terms, its like
breaking your leg, but continuing to run because you dont want people to know its
broken. To be mentally ill, means to have unbalance of chemicals in your brain or
inability to cope with the ordinary demands of life. Mentally diseased, the
individuals thought processes control reality to an abnormal extreme. As Abraham
Lincoln described his depression in the sonnet The Suicides Soliloquy, quote
Hell! What is hell to one like me
Who pleasure never knew;
By friends consigned to misery,
By hope deserted too?
Yes! Im prepared, through endless night,
To take that fiery berth!
Think not with tales of hell to fright
Me, who am damnd on earth!
The person experiencing the symptoms know their behavior is unconventional, that
they should not be feeling that way, but yet they do, and whats worse is it cant be
explained. Once another human being identifies his or her disorders, the symptoms
become worse because knowing something is wrong with our brain, and being told
we need to be fixed, further graves us into our irregular behavior.
This information is important to know because 1 in 4 adults experience a
mental health condition in a given year. Thats 61.5 million Americans. They are
victims of the illness and the poor societal stigma. A stigma such as depression is

merely self-pity and sadness or schizophrenics are unpredictable and violent. [insert
images of brains]. Worse than society discriminating against the individual, the
individual begins to discriminate against themselves for their inability to be
normal. And therefore, 60% of adults dont seek help and 50% of youth, ages 8 to
15, receive no mental services. They dont go to the doctors to get a cast and ib
profen, instead they fight through and hide the pain. Therefore, its important that
we openly talk about mental illness in order to help friends understand and help
victims heal. Mood disorders are the third most common cause of hospitalization in
America, and all because people dont receive proper treatment. If others seek to
understand, then maybe mental illnesses can finally become understood.
As psychologist Elyn Saks said in her Ted Talk, Everyone becomes psychotic
in his or her own ways. Mental illness is relative. Each person will have different
experiences, even people with the same diagnosis. Its important to understand that
mental illness is personal and internal. Laura Bain, living with Bipolar Type II
described, There were no external reasons, my mind simply placed me there. Due
to its subjectiveness its hard to understand the extremes of helping people with
such illnesses unless you yourself has been there; but its crucial for development
that we try. We must understand that just as anything the mental illness becomes a
part of who you are, but does not define who you are. The hopelessness in a
depressed person is their illness, not their character. As psychologist Elyn Sakes
explained in her Ted Talk There are not schizophrenics, there are people with
schizophrenia. You wouldnt say, That person is cancer! You would say that
person has cancer.
Mental illness is constructing a reality against the general norm. Laura Bain
described her bipolar was like wearing slippers on one foot and stunning heels on
the other. Normal people would wear matching shoes, but her life fluctuates
between two weeks of mania and consecutive weeks of depression. However,
struggling with mental illness is not the problem; its the stigma from others that
has become the issue. Learn what mental illness is, the effect it has, and how to view.We all know
someone who suffers from a mental illness, its hard to go through, but in the end, theres no doubt that it
makes one stronger no matter societys poorly construed connotations