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IELTS Topic: HEALTH
Reading 2
It’s nothing like a broken leg
Original source: The Guardian
Hanna Jane Parkinson is sick and tired of trite mental health slogans.
In the last few years I have observed a transformation in the way we talk about mental health, watched as depression and anxiety went from unspoken things to ubiquitous hashtags. It seems as though every week is now some kind of Mental Health Awareness Week, in which we should wear a specific colour (although this year no one could agree on which: half wore green, half yellow).
In the last few years I have lost count of the times mental illness has been compared to a broken leg. Mental illness is nothing like a broken leg.
Stigma exists from a place of real fear and a lack of understanding
Oh, I know how it’s meant. The lack of stigma should be the same as telling people why your limb is in a cast. But you can’t just put someone with a broken leg and an insane person side by side and expect people not to be able to tell the difference.
In recent years the discussion around mental health has hit the mainstream. I call it the Conversation. It isn’t a bad thing that we are all talking about mental health; it would be silly to argue otherwise. But the Conversation tends to focus on depression and anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. It is less comfortable with the mental illnesses deemed more unpalatable – people who act erratically, hallucinate, have violent episodes or interpersonal instability.
Many people are uncomfortable being around those who hallucinate or act unpredictably.
Source: Prostock-studio/ Shutterstock
The key is not to deny (the fear) but to educate
I don’t want to pretend that this stigma is merely a hurdle to be overcome. Stigma exists from a place of real fear, and a lack of understanding of the behavioural changes that can accompany mental illness. Episodes of illness can be frightening, frustrating, tiring and annoying for both the unwell individual and those around them.
The key isn’t to deny this, but to educate.