Mental Health, a taboo subject

May 3, 2021

During this Mental Health Week, the first question that comes to my mind is, will this pandemic—despite all the negativity that it causes—sensitize society and the public to the problems of mental health? When I hear the most common prejudices like “schizophrenic people are violent”; “depressed people lack drive”; “anxious people are weak-minded”; “bipolar people are hard to manage”, all these prejudices lead to stigmatization and discrimination and show a lack of information on the subject.

I believe that as an advanced and progressive society, we have to start at the start, i.e. education. We say that to have good mental health, the key to success is to lead a balanced life—yes, but the greatest hurdle is that no one is the same, we are all different people, we all have our own histories, and during a global pandemic, what exactly does a balanced life look like? It would be a good idea to focus specifically on the needs of those among us who are vulnerable. Let’s learn to notice changes in behaviour in our loved ones, our colleagues and our friends. Let’s try to understand what mental illnesses are, to differentiate between anxiety disorders, panic attacks and agoraphobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression, bipolar disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, mood disorders and others.

Anyone of us can have mistaken perceptions, but people struggling from mental illnesses have more problems with their thoughts and perceptions. Very often, those close to them are confronted with this reality and their own thoughts and behaviours are greatly affected by it.

Discrimination against people suffering from mental health problems or addictions is often linked to prejudiced attitudes, negative stereotypes, as well as the generalized stigmatization of mental problems and addictions.

The best present that you can give to someone with a mental health problem is to listen to them, recommend that they consult with someone, support them, and show them a great deal of empathy. As you can see, this proves the necessity of increasing education and communication on this subject, in order to fight against taboos, fake news and concerns about mental health. Even nowadays, mental illnesses evoke fears and shame in some people. These behaviours reflect mistaken beliefs, misunderstandings, and ignorance regarding mental illnesses.

We must lead the way as union leaders in helping our community adopt a healthy and positive dialogue and demonstrate that it’s possible to render this topic less taboo, so that people can talk about it freely, without any concerns.

In closing, take care of yourselves and those close to you, and keep in mind that a positive mental attitude leads to positive feelings, which in turn results in positive outcomes.

Daniel Toutant
National Vice-President for Human Rights