Myth 4. “People with mental disabilities cannot work”
In a sense, this myth contradicts the previous one. At the same time, both are quite tenacious, although the general public is becoming aware of more and more about the employment, successes and even achievements of people with mental problems.
Of course, there are those among them whose illness is very severe and makes it impossible to lead a normal life with a regulated working day and a significant daily amount of work. But this also happens to those who suffer from serious physical illnesses.
However, most people with mental illness can be just as productive as anyone else. A 2014 American study analyzed employment data for people with psychiatric diagnoses. They were compared with general employment rates in the population.
It turned out that the employment rate of people without mental illness was 75.9%, of people with relatively mild mental disabilities - 68.8%, with moderate illnesses - 62.7%. And even 54.5% of people with severe mental illness worked.
In addition, scientists found that the difference in the employment rate of people with and without mental diagnoses in the group of 18-25 years old was only 1%, and in the age group of 50-64 – 21%.
Perhaps this reflects the fact that in the modern world young people with these types of problems receive much more help in terms of vocational training and employment than those for whom it was relevant 30–40 years ago.
Myth 3. “It’s your own fault”
This statement can often be heard about people suffering from depression, addictions, or eating disorders.
From the outside, it seems that a person is simply showing weakness, does not consider it necessary to pull himself together, or is making a conscious choice in favor of behavior that causes a lot of trouble for himself and those around him.
In fact, getting out of depression or alcohol/drug addiction is no easier than recovering from, for example, a stomach ulcer.
The patient needs not only the support of loved ones, but also qualified medical care.
In one of the studies with the characteristic title “Strong-willed but not successful: The importance of strategies in recovery from addiction,” an international group of scientists analyzed the relationship between a patient’s willpower and chances to get rid of addiction.
The researchers concluded that there is no direct dependence, and often people suffering from any type of addiction have quite normal willpower, but their recovery depended much more on whether they found suitable strategies for controlling external factors, contributing to the continuation of their addiction.
Perhaps even more unfair is the rumor for people suffering from eating disorders, especially women. You can often hear that girls are susceptible to anorexia or bulimia due to the desire to have a beautiful figure.
This is wrong.
Firstly, men also suffer from these disorders, and secondly, eating disorders are a very serious mental illness, which in some cases leads to the death of the patient.
If a girl is afraid to eat a donut, this is a warning sign
None of the people with the disorders listed above will be helped by calls like “get it together, you wimp!” If you really want to help, try to convince your loved one to consult a specialist, and ideally, undergo a course of treatment.
Myth 6. “Mental illnesses are incurable”
This is a very harmful misconception.
Firstly, some patients are cured with the help of various kinds of drugs and psychotherapy. At the same time, cure means such a reduction in the manifestations of the disease that allows a person to lead a full life.
Secondly, treatment may not lead to complete relief from the disease, but provide the patient with fairly long periods of remission when the symptoms are under control and the person can enjoy life.
The process of recovery from mental illness is almost never simple or short. It is difficult to go through it alone without the acceptance and support of loved ones, as well as professional help from doctors. But following this path, a person, as a rule, sees positive changes and is inspired by them.
Advances in medicine and biotechnology, and society’s increasing openness and concern for people with mental illness can radically change the situation in which a severe diagnosis became a life sentence.
Source:
Medical myths: Mental health misconceptions
Myth 1. “Mental illnesses are rare”
According to the World Health Organization, about 450 million people on our planet constantly live with mental disorders. Moreover, every fourth inhabitant of the Earth experiences at least one episode of mental illness (depression, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic syndrome, panic attacks) throughout his life.
Depression is one of the most common disorders, affecting about 264 million people worldwide, and one recent American study found that the number of adults with depression has tripled during the coronavirus pandemic.
In general, mental disorders, according to WHO, are one of the leading groups of diseases worldwide.
This means that even if we forget for a moment about considerations of ethics and humanity and approach the issue purely from a formal point of view, a person with mental illness is undoubtedly one of us.
Myth 5. “Schizophrenia means that a person has a split personality”
Actually, a separate article could be devoted to myths about schizophrenia, since this particular disease seems mysterious and even mystical, and therefore arouses increased interest and fear, both of which are very conducive to myth-making.
In fact, there are a number of subtypes of schizophrenia, and not all of them are associated with split consciousness, voices in the head and hallucinations.
Schizophrenia, indeed, is characterized by certain distortions in the perception of reality, oneself, as well as in emotional reactions, thinking and behavior, but the degree of their severity can be very different.
People diagnosed with schizophrenia may experience mood swings and behavioral patterns, but in many cases, modern therapeutic options help the patient.
There are, of course, severe forms when a person becomes maladaptive for months, but even with this course of the disease there are periods of remission during which he can lead a relatively normal life.
As for split consciousness, it is a symptom of multiple personality disorder, which is extremely rare and is not schizophrenia.
Mental illness as a cross from the Lord
Bulletin “To help the suffering soul”, 2012
In front of me is a mentally ill young man.
What brought him to the appointment was not a deterioration in his health, but a desire to be listened to and consoled. He suffers from a form of psychosis in which his personality remains relatively intact. The disease seems to disappear before his eyes. In a tired voice, he said: “Doctor, sometimes it seems to me that the Lord has abandoned me, that my life is useless, aimless. I’m a burden for my old mother, I don’t have a job, my pension isn’t even enough to make ends meet...” We had a difficult conversation. It's very difficult for the young man. He needs help. And, of course, the Lord did not forget about him. Everything is God's will. We just need to believe that everything is given to us for salvation from the All-Good Lord. There is no need to give in to despondency. What is important before God is not positions and successes, but faith, humility, and uncomplaining bearing of one’s cross.
Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov writes about this: “The priest must explain to the person that mental illness is not a shame. This is not at all some kind of condition that has been erased from life. This is a cross. Such a person cannot do something the way healthy people do. But he can and must humble himself. He doesn't understand much, but he must obey. And if such a patient can be explained that he must humble himself, then everything is in order. He will definitely be rehabilitated and will be able to live safely in the Church. Neither the Kingdom of God nor the life of grace is closed to him...
They often say: “Why do you bless taking pills? Can mental illness be treated with pills? I came to Church, I ask for God’s grace, I want God to heal my sick soul. Why do you send to doctors? What, God’s grace doesn’t work?” The grace of God works, and God can heal anyone, even the sickest person, from any illness in an instant. He can make the lame whole, he can make the blind see, and he can make the mentally ill healthy. This is definitely true. But why doesn't the Lord do this? You are lame and will be lame all your life. Why? But because the Lord humbles you in this way, because God placed such a cross on you. Or maybe you once chose this cross for yourself. We must humble ourselves. You are not given the opportunity to see with two eyes, but only with one. And you will be deaf...
It’s the same with any other illness, including mental illness. The Lord can heal you. But today, or maybe throughout your life, He wants you to seek help from a doctor. This does not mean at all that you do not need to receive communion and that this is for you instead of Communion... Spiritual life is only possible when a person agrees to recognize the true state of things and humbles himself, agrees to live with the cross that the Lord gave him.”
And this is how the holy fathers teach us. Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt said: “The greatest, constant delusion of our heart, with which we need to fight continuously - throughout our lives, is its secret thought, as if we can be without God and outside of God somewhere, someday at least one moment".
The Holy Venerable Nicodemus the Holy Mountain instructs us this way: “Whether you are sick or poor, be patient. God does not require anything from you except patience. By enduring complacently, you will continuously be in good deeds. Whenever God looks at you, He will see that you are doing good or are in goodness if you patiently endure, whereas in a healthy person good deeds come at intervals. Why, wanting to change your situation, do you want to exchange the best for the worst?
Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) wrote, consoling in grief over insanity: “You should not grieve over the temptation that has happened, but surrender to the will of God, which saves all those who are saved through manifold sorrows. D.'s allowed insanity was allowed to benefit her, so that her spirit would be saved. Leave it to God. Regarding everything she said and did in her fit, you should not pay any attention, and you should not take any of her words and deeds to heart, because everything was done and done by her outside of reason...
May God comfort you in the sorrow that has befallen you. The hair of our head does not fall without His will! The world views adventures with people differently, and God looks differently. We see that Saint Niphon the Bishop suffered from insanity for four years, Saint Isaac and Saint Nikita (who was later the saint of Novgorod) suffered from mental damage for a long time... We believe that without the will of God no sorrow can approach us; We accept all sorrow, as coming from the hand of God, with reverent submission to the will of God, with thanksgiving and glorification of the all-good God, incomprehensible in His ways, wondrous in all His deeds.”
It is traditionally believed that most psychotic pathologies are difficult to cure. This especially applies to severe psychosis, degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the cerebral cortex, congenital forms of mental disability, etc. But the mercy of God, through the faith of people, shows us miracles, and the laws of nature recede.
I’ll use a very vivid example, which is described in a small book called “When Children Get Sick.” Its author is a doctor and priest, Father Alexy Grachev. “Two and a half years ago, a sick girl of about twelve from an orphanage came to me for confession. She couldn’t put two words together, she was spinning like a top, her abnormal gaze, constant grimaces, her whole appearance spoke of “inferiority.” And so she began to confess and receive communion every Sunday.
A year later, she began to feel the need for revelation of her thoughts (whoever prays and confesses often knows what this is). The girl began to lead such an attentive spiritual life, which even those people who consider themselves deeply religious and churchgoers are unaware of. She began to pray the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”), fight excuses, forgive offenses, endure everything. Within a few months, she learned to read and write, all signs of imbecility disappeared, and the stamp of spirituality appeared on her face. There was feeling and reasoning in everything she said and did...” Such examples are not isolated, there are many of them.
I will give a very instructive example from the book of Archpriest Ilya Chetverukhin and Evgenia Chetverukhina, “Hieroschemamonk Alexy, Elder of the Smolensk Zosimova Hermitage.” Here is an extract from this book: “An interesting story is told by one Tolmachev parishioner, E.I. Shulgina, whose second son was born deaf and mute. She took this grief very hard, at times reaching despair. On the advice of E.L. Chetverukhina, she went to Zosimova Hermitage. E.I. told the elder everything and began to ask him to pray for his son, for his healing. Father resolutely refused. “You should rejoice, you are happy,” the elder told her, “that in our bitter times your son will not say or hear anything bad. And you need to pray for your son like this: “Lord, if it is necessary for the glory of Your name for my son to speak, then give it to him, but if it is not Your holy will, then let him remain deaf and dumb.”
The priest pronounced this answer in such a firm and decisive voice that E.I. could not object. And even, on the contrary, she not only suddenly stopped being sad and yearning, but left the elder completely calmed down and from then on completely submitted to the will of God.”
Dmitry Avdeev
