Myths and Facts about Behavioral Health Disorders
Did you know, 1 out of every 5 Americans suffers from mental illness? 1 out of 5 children and 1 out of 25 Americans suffer from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or depression. These numbers are increasing due to a lack of awareness about mental health conditions. Mental health conditions affect your mood, behavior, and thinking. While most of them are treatable, most people don’t get proper treatment by believing in the myths about mental illness, which creates problems in their everyday life. Visit the best Mental Health Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to www.doralhw.org.
Learn about the myths about mental health issues to avoid them so that you don’t get misguided by them in the future.
Myth 1. Having a mental illness means you are “crazy.”
Fact: This is not true at all because mental illness does not mean craziness, but it means you are vulnerable to getting an illness that affects your daily activity and causes challenging symptoms. Having a mental illness affects your thinking, and moods or alters your perception of reality. So, it does not mean that you are crazy, it only means that as humans we are susceptible to sickness and illness same as any other person.
Myth 2. People with mental health conditions can’t have jobs.
Fact: This is one of the most common myths that people believe, which is not true at all. This might be true for people who live with a particularly severe mental health condition. However, most people with mental health conditions can work as productively as any other without mental health disorders. According to a US study in 2014, 54.5% of individuals who have severe mental health conditions are employed, compared to 75.9% of people without a mental illness, and 68.8% of people with mild mental illness.
Myth 3. Mentally ill people are dangerous and violent.
Fact: Well, this is just a myth, not reality. Because even if people have serious mental illnesses, they are not violent. Only a little minority can be violent. So, why is this myth famous? It is because the media is very quick to judge that suspects of violent crimes are mentally disturbed or mentally ill if they show aggressiveness, and violence, which is not related to mental illness. It is related to hatred and anger which is the reason behind those crimes. Statistics show that only 5% of people who commit violent crimes in the US are seriously mentally ill. So, it’s important to be aware of misconceptions so that you can keep yourself and your family safe.
Myth 4. PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is only a military man’s disease.
Fact: This is not true. A person can develop PTSD if they are a victim of rape or physical assault, a domestic abuse victim, a survivor of a natural disaster or have lost a loved one, or even a person who did not face any violence or physical threats themselves directly but witnessed someone else who did. So, don’t develop this misconception that PSTD only happens to military people, not any average person.
Myth 5. Eating disorders only happen to females.
Fact. This is one of the stereotype myths built around eating disorders that many young and wealthy females develop eating disorders. However, this is not true because anyone can develop eating disorders. A study was done to investigate the demographics of eating disorders over 10 years and found that they are shifting. And they found that eating disorders are common in males from lower-income homes and in people aged 45 years or older rather than young females. Another research found that males hold 10 to 25% of all cases of anorexia and bulimia nervosa, and 25% of cases of binge eating disorders. So, anyone can develop eating disorders.
Myth 6. Having mental health problems is a sign of weakness.
Fact: It is like if your leg is broken, the reason is that you are weak. But we all know, it’s not true. Infections, diseases, genetic, or environmental factors are the reason that people develop mental health disorders not because of their character. What is true is that fighting a mental health condition takes a greater amount of strength.
Myth 7. People with schizophrenia have split personalities.
Fact. Well, this is a common myth that people believe. For them, schizophrenia means splitting the mind. Which is far from the truth. Schizophrenia means developing distortions in thinking, perception, emotions, language, sense of self, and behavior. People suffering from schizophrenia are not able to tell the difference between reality and delusions. That’s why it is easy to think that they have a split personality which is not true.
These are the myths and facts about mental health issues you should be aware of. Mental health is important for our mental and physical well-being. So, you should avoid those misconceptions and learn the truth about them, so you never get misguided by them.
Need any help with mental health conditions or have signs of it, call us at 1-347-384-5690 to book your appointment at our mental health clinic to get treatment for mental health specialists with caring nursing staff to take care of you during your procedure.
Want to know more in detail, then call us at 1-347-384-5690 to schedule a consultation. If you need help with behavioral health disorders, register your information and make direct contact with our doctor or psychiatrist to learn those methods, log on to www.doralhw.org. Doral Health and Wellness has the best Doctors and Psychiatrists that specialize in Behavioral health make accurate diagnoses, and craft tailored treatment programs. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.