Diversity in the world is a good thing, and it should be celebrated and respected by everyone, and one way to do that is to accommodate people with different needs. This article will discuss why making mental health services more accessible and approachable for everyone is crucial and should be made a priority.
It Helps Break Down Stigmas
One of the most significant barriers to mental health treatment isn’t necessarily related to healthcare or finances; instead, it has to do with social stigmatization, which is present in many cultures.
Stigmatization involves a set of negative beliefs towards mental health that can be influenced by certain societies as a whole, which are then passed down to the families and then down to the individual.
For example, certain cultures might believe that mental illness is a sign of weakness or that it’s a myth, and therefore, a person who is struggling with a particular issue might feel disgraced or shameful about what they’re going through and don’t seek treatment.
To elaborate on this, historically, many cultures have had set beliefs towards gender and sexuality, and those who aren’t able to discuss their thoughts and feelings and relate to others can develop chronic depression. Unfortunately, the stigmas towards these topics and mental health prevent people from getting the help that they need.
This is also perpetuated by the fact that some places in the world are discriminatory towards mental health concerns – people have been denied employment or housing because they spoke up about their experiences.
Cultural shifts do change over time, and while great strides have been made to make the world a more accepting place for people with different needs, a lot of work still needs to be done. Nonetheless, stigmatization will gradually decrease by making people more aware of the importance of good mental health and promoting easy access to it.
It Provides A Safe Space
Marginalization and safety are topics of concern for people who struggle with inclusivity issues, whether ethnically or religiously, and gender and sexuality. Nowadays, places that stress the importance of mental health try to ensure that everyone is able to discuss the issues that they come across freely.
Counselors and therapists are able to provide that to individuals, and these professionals are becoming better and better at understanding their needs, and schools are an excellent example of this.
Schools, especially public colleges and universities, are a place where people from different walks of life are able to come together, and therefore, diversity is something that is celebrated, and mental health services on school grounds strive to make their time more comfortable. They are also usually covered by your tuition, so you don’t need to worry about having insurance if you want to talk to someone.
Even if it’s not working with a mental health professional, having safe spaces on campus is still a powerful tool to promote wellness because it allows individuals who may come from marginalized backgrounds to discuss their thoughts and feelings without being concerned about being judged or humiliated.
The odds are, you’ll find someone you can relate to, or perhaps people can feel moved by what you can contribute. This doesn’t mean that bigotry and intolerance will be gone anytime soon, but nonetheless, there are more ways for people to cope with their experiences, and having private and confidential areas online and where many people congregate indeed helps with that.
Online support groups and forums can also be of great assistance if you’d like to maintain a sense of anonymity right now, but you can also find help from communities in your area and are encouraged to reach out to them.
Everyone Deserves To Live Their Best Lives
Mental health is a right that everyone has, and just like there is great diversity with human beings, there are just as many challenges that they can face.
Did you know that it is estimated that around 5 percent of the world’s population is affected by major depression? Realistically, while this is still a very high number of people, it’s very possible this value could be even higher.
This is because many people in underdeveloped countries who don’t have access to mental health services or face stigmatization don’t report it and aren’t able to talk about the social and identity issues that could contribute to depression, like gender dysphoria, sexism, racism, and questioning one’s sexuality.
Anxiety is also a common mental health problem that often coexists with depression too, and unfortunately, together, they make up some of the leading causes of disability around the world.
Mental health problems aren’t always preventable – they can happen due to genetics and biological changes, but they can be treated; people just need to have access to it.
If individuals are to be productive, it’s crucial for them to feel comfortable in their own skin and be able to find affordable mental health services when they need it because this is essential for the health and wellbeing of society.
How To Find Unbiased Mental Health Treatment
One of the easiest and most effective ways to find inclusive mental healthcare is by utilizing online counseling and therapy services.
Here, you can choose to have the same face-to-face interaction as you’d typically have in a session or you can choose to remain anonymous; what’s most important is that your needs are being tended to confidentially.
Finding a professional who cares should never be stressful, and BetterHelp makes it easy to do so. By visiting BetterHelp today, you can find additional resources that can help you get started with affordable online therapy, as well as gain useful advice on a variety of other mental health topics that you might be dealing with right now.
Conclusion
Hopefully, from reading this article, you have a stronger idea of why mental health is a pressing matter and what has been done to make improving it much more achievable for those who need it.
Of course, more work still needs to be carried out to make it approachable for people all over the globe, but great progress has been made, and with tools like online mental health services and access to a wealth of information and support groups, getting assistance doesn’t have to have geographical limitations anymore.
