As we enter 2017, our society is becoming more open to different topics with ourselves and each other, but unfortunately, we still stigmatize mental health illness.
One in five people, male and female, will be diagnosed with a mental illness within a year, compared to an illness such as breast cancer which affects one in ten females every year. There are a wide range of mental health disorders and symptoms which can start at a very young age.
Randi Silverman, cofounder of The Youth Mental Health Project, decided to share her story in a movie titled “No Letting Go.” The film is a raw and emotional story that goes into great detail about Robinson’s journey of his mental health disorder.
His symptoms started when he was five years old when he didn’t want to get out of bed to attend school because he feared his classmates hated him. It took seven years for the little boy to get diagnosed properly and receive the proper treatment.
His school’s counselors and psychiatrists thought the reason for the boy’s behavior was because of Randi’s anxiety and recommended that she seek help. The counselors and psychiatrists couldn’t diagnose the boy because they weren’t trained to look for mental health issues.
There are numerous mental health professionals in our own community that provide specialized care for people of all ages who suffer from mental illness. In Bexar County there are 32 different mental health facilities that help different people of different age groups with their specific illness, even helping those who have not been diagnosed.
There are many resources readily available to help people with mental illness. It is disheartening that many people are walking around in our society thinking something is wrong with them when there is not. They just need to come to terms with themselves that it is not them, it is their disorder.
Talking about mental health should not be taboo and should not be stigmatized. 41.6% of college students suffer from anxiety, ranging from mild to severe, and it is very treatable, either with meditation and breathing exercises or seeking help from a professional.
For more information, please visit Bexar County Mental Health Department website at bexar.org/mhd.