You must have seen sunflowers blooming in the sun. They bloom heartily to the sun like bright smiling faces. But have you ever seen sunflowers in the shadow? They stood in the darkness that the sun could not shine, lonely and sad, and the hanging flower tray seemed to cry silently. A survey conducted by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2009 showed that there were more than 100 million patients with various mental diseases in China. According to the 2013 data released by the Chinese Medical Association, The number of diabetics with the highest incidence in the world is 139 million. Mental diseases, like high-risk diseases such as diabetes, It is increasingly becoming a common disease in life. However, people with mental illness suffer much more discrimination and exclusion than people with diabetes. People regard them as special people, fear them and stay away from them. Do you really understand mental illness? In our life, we often come into contact with all kinds of negative information about patients with mental diseases: Daily gossip is full of popular terms such as [brain-dead, mental derangement, military madman], Related bad social events in TV and newspapers are also being selectively paid attention to and reported. If the keyword [suspected mental illness] is entered in the news channel of Baidu Engine, As many as 30,000 news items will be retrieved, But when you click on a few at will and track the progress of the incident, You will find that most of the news has no follow-up reports. No one cares whether the person [suspected of mental illness] really suffers from mental illness. Many social phenomena have been [pan-psychotic] by the public and the media. Even become the content of our daily entertainment, This has led to a deeper misunderstanding of mental illness. Misunderstanding of mental illness has turned into a tall and thick wall. Imprisoned the mentally ill in a dark siege. Misunderstanding 1: Stay Away from [Mental Patients] Stay Away from Mental Illness Survey shows that the lifelong prevalence rate of various mental disorders in Chinese is 17.6%. In other words: 17.6 out of 100 people may suffer from mental illness in their life. Everyone may have emotional or mental problems for a period of time in his life. Like a cold or a fever, We call this phenomenon [mental cold]. Therefore, Looking at people with mental illness with [colored glasses] does not keep us away from mental illness. The truth is: To understand them, to understand diseases scientifically, Only in this way can we effectively prevent and detect mental diseases as soon as possible. Misunderstanding 2: People with mental illness are dangerous [madmen]. According to the World Health Organization’s diagnostic classification, There are about 200 kinds of mental illness, The top three are: Mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance dependence-related disorders, these diseases generally do not lead patients to make drastic behaviors that endanger the safety of others. However, patients with severe mental disorders that may have loss of consciousness and out-of-control behavior account for only about 1% of the total number of patients. The vast majority of mental patients are not hysterical, dangerous and horrible as we imagine, In reality, they are neglected vulnerable groups, Living cautiously for fear of being discriminated against, More need people’s care and help. Misunderstanding 3: People suffering from mental diseases are more likely to be hurt by violence. Survey shows that about 8% ~ 10% of patients with severe mental diseases have violent tendencies or behaviors. While nearly 20% of ordinary people who are not sick have used violence. You can imagine if you live in a city with a population of 1 million. There are about 1,000 people with mental illness who are prone to violence, As many as 200,000 ordinary people have committed violence. In other words, The number of mentally ill people who commit violence is far lower than that of ordinary people. Social prejudice and isolation make them more vulnerable to violence and bullying by others. Become a victim. Myth 4: There is no cure for mental illness. Surveys show that more than 80% of patients do not belong to severe mental illness. They do not need hospitalization or special supervision, Recovery can be achieved through general treatment. For patients with severe mental illness, Our country has perfect treatment and management standards, They can return to society through hospitalization, community rehabilitation, family rehabilitation and other ways. Moreover, patients with mental diseases who are not in the onset period have the same ability to work as ordinary people. Can create value for society, Even become outstanding people. There are many famous people in all walks of life who have suffered from mental illness. For example, former British Prime Minister Churchill suffered from depression. Nobel laureate and mathematician John Nash suffers from schizophrenia. Howard Hughes, a famous American entrepreneur and aviation engineer, suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc. Misunderstanding 5: It will not be good for a lifetime if you have mental illness. Although mental illness has serious damage to the social function of patients, But with the development of psychiatry, The clinical therapeutic effect of mental diseases has been greatly improved. According to epidemiological data at home and abroad, 90% of patients with mental diseases can control their illness through timely treatment, persistent medication and regular return visits. And through systematic rehabilitation measures to prevent and control the recurrence of the disease. Many patients can completely return to normal life, Continue to go to school, work, And get married and have children. Compared with the impact of the disease itself on patients, Social discrimination and the resulting shame of patients are the biggest obstacles for patients with mental diseases to return to normal life. These misunderstandings have brought about people’s emotional shame on mental diseases. Shame can lead to stereotypes and prejudices in attitudes, Attitude further determines behavior, Discrimination arises from this. Just like discrimination on the grounds of sex, race and so on, Discrimination against mental illness will infiltrate every bit of life unconsciously. The Mental Health Law of the People’s Republic of China, which was implemented in May 2013, explicitly requires the whole society to respect, understand and care for patients with mental diseases. This provides a legal basis for them to strive for a more equal living environment. Mentally ill people are neglected and vulnerable groups in their lives. The suffering of diseases makes their physical and mental difficulties, making their lives more difficult, while prejudice and discrimination make them bear unimaginable pressure and pain. Can we do some what for them? Maybe you will say, I am not a doctor. Can I do some what? In fact, your reading at this moment is helping them. Understanding mental health knowledge and improving our mental health literacy can help us to scientifically understand mental diseases and treat patients with mental diseases more objectively. Based on your knowledge and goodwill, accept them and understand them. Give them a smile and help as much as they can. When they are misunderstood and rejected, support them, resist prejudice and discrimination, etc. These are all you can do. There are such a group of people, like sunflowers growing in the shadow for many years, who yearn for sunshine more because they cannot shine. They have always cherished ordinary hope in their hearts: hope to live like ordinary people, hope to be loved and respected! Perhaps your understanding and kindness can bring them a ray of warm light. And when our care gathers less and becomes more, wisps of light will connect into a bright spring, allowing all sunflowers to bloom heartily!
