“It is only in sorrow bad weather masters us ; in joy we face the storm and defy it.” – Amelia Barr

It’s been 27 years since the Federation for mental health inaugurated the first world mental health day. It was done in order to provide mental health education, create awareness and reduce the social stigma and discrimination pertaining to mental illness. It is sad to note however, that this objective is far from having met. Social stigma around psychological illnesses is still as at large and there are so many who suffer in silence because they lack the necessary awareness and even those who do, do not want to be penalised as crazy.

I know this from personal experience as a mental health practitioner. At my place of work, there are those who do not want others to see them coming to my office as others will label them as “crazy” or “unstable”. There are department heads who ask me to speak to a certain subordinate discreetly as they do not want them to feel offended if they are sent to me. There are those who ask whether counseling is really necessary and whether it does any good. There are also those who say, “counseling is so easy, anyone can do it. Why do you need so much training just to listen to other people’s problems?”. The list topper is when people say, “You must also be crazy after spending the day with “mad” people.

These are extremely offensive statements that demean and discriminate those in psychological distress as well as mental health professionals. The availability of mental health services at a work place should be seen as resourcefulness. People who actively seek help for their psychological distress are actually mentally stronger than those who walk around in fear of the stigma of mental health counseling.

It is not seen as a weakness if someone goes to a doctor for a fever or a broken limb. However, if one visits the counselor’s office, they are labelled as crazy and even unfit to work. Awareness needs to be created that mental health is just as important as physical well being.

Another popular misconception about psychological counseling that I come across in my work is that it attempts to solve people’s problems. People vary. They are complex and they differ in their thinking, beliefs, perceptions, contexts, intellectual levels and understanding. Given this condition it is practically impossible for a counselor to have “one size fits all” solutions up their sleeve for all of these issues. Counseling is rather, providing a safe and supportive context for people to explore their issues. The counselor’s role is to gently help the person to uncover the root causes of their concerns and to formulate an action plan to change their maladaptive thinking patterns and consequently behaviours.

From a humanist perspective, people are viewed as innately and fundamentally good. However, due to life circumstances and wrong decisions made along the way, this innate goodness and wisdom gets buried under layers of psychological debris. When provided an empathetic and non-judgemental space, the counselor can help the person to peel away these layers to unearth their intrinsic value. This in itself is cathartic. This itself is healing.

Technological advancement has made it easier to access information and spread ideas. If this is made to use to spread awareness about metal illness & psychological distress and that there are ways that help can be obtained, stigma associated with mental health issues can be eradicated from the minds and hearts of people.

It’s perfectly “ok” to feel “not ok” at times.  And that’s ok too.

Author: Ms. Namal Avanthi Jayasinghe – Psychological Counselor/ Doctoral Candidate