Although as a nation we are getting better about discussing our wellness and sharing difficult health problems, emotional/mental health problems are still something of a taboo. This is unfortunate, as it has been proved that speaking out about mental health can be hugely beneficial for the wellbeing of those suffering from any kind of mental health problem.
The charity Rethink has long tried to encourage people to speak out about mental health, in order to tackle the prejudice that is, sadly, still attached to the whole category of mental health. This works because those who feel a prejudice only look at people as a category, but if people speak out about their mental health problems they are forced to consider them as individuals, and fellow human beings.
Unfortunately, it can be a bit of a catch-22 situation, as those who do speak out can be subject to discrimination, so often people keep their mental health problems to themselves in order to avoid being subject to this discrimination. For some people, the process of coming out as someone with a mental health problem can have effects on the job that they do for a living. Professionals feel that their judgement and capability may be questioned, and those in positions of authority fear that they will lose the respect that people have for them.
People reveal that from their own experience, talking about their diagnosis with those who are not currently suffering from mental health problems can be a very awkward situation. People feel uncomfortable with the subject and so simply do not know what to say. This leads to people closing off, which then perpetuates this situation, and leads to many people not receiving the diagnoses they require, as they feel ashamed or do not understand what they are suffering from.
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