A few years ago, I heard a conversation between two women that I hardly know. I was sitting in a hair salon, waiting for my mom, when the pair sitting in the chairs next to me starting talking about how they regularly took their sons to the chiropractor.
Of course, there is nothing wrong or even completely unusual with this behavior of taking children to the chiropractor. However, one key sentence jumped out at me in the middle of their very loud conversation.
“Our kids may be the only ones in Naples to see a chiropractor every few weeks, but at least we aren’t taking them to the psychologist’s.”
Looking over at me and quickly remembering that my dad is a psychologist, the woman who said that jokingly apologized to me and then went back to her conversation.
In fact, any time that I have mentioned to anyone that my father is a psychologist, the person usually makes some comment about how that must be the reason I am so quiet. Or they ask if I get tired of being psychoanalyzed all the time.
I know they are all joking, including the two women from the hair salon. However, over the years it has really made me wonder why there is such a negative stigma associated with counseling.
I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and panic attack disorder when I was 9 years old. Since that time, I have seen one social worker and one school counselor. Add in the fact that I have lived with a psychologist for my whole life and, to me, counseling seems like a normal part of life that some people choose to take advantage of.
Clearly, that is not how everyone sees it.
If an individual suggests that someone should attend therapy, it is seen as an insult. People who experience mental illness are sometimes regarded as “crazy” (yes, even in 2018). If you type “mental illness” into thesaurus.com, one of the first synonyms given is “insanity.” Simply judging by the reactions people have when I tell them that I have a mental disorder, it is still a taboo subject.
Now, there are many possible different reasons for this.
According to an article by Good Therapy, back in Ancient Greece, if an individual had some sort of mental health disorder, it was considered a punishment from the gods. In the Middle Ages, the mentally ill were seen as being possessed by a demon. In Europe in the 1600s, they were chained in dungeons and isolated from the rest of society.
Although these facts do not account for every possible reason a person may feel uneasy about therapy or mental illness, they do show that the general population has viewed these subjects negatively for a very long time.
Thankfully, there are many different coalitions these days to break those stigmas, educate society and provide support for those who may be struggling.
Several such resources can be found right on campus. The counseling center in LoGrasso Hall is helpful and completely confidential, plus it is very easy to schedule an appointment.
Nobody who thinks they need help should have to reconsider therapy just because their friends or family say that it is only something for “crazy people.” Nobody should be made to feel like an outcast by talking to a professional.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 43.8 million adults are impacted by mental illness every year. So why are we still making counseling socially unacceptable?