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    Essay On The Importance of Mental Health Parity

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    Prince Batioco
    This document discusses the importance of mental health parity and reducing the stigma around mental illness. It notes that over half of Americans will experience a mental illness in their lifetime, but only 40-50% receive needed treatment due to stigma. The author describes their own three-year struggle with depression and an eating disorder, during which they hid their illness and suffered greatly. Their family eventually intervened and insisted they get help, which they are now grateful for.

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    Essay On The Importance of Mental Health Parity

    Uploaded by

    Prince Batioco
    252 views1 page
    This document discusses the importance of mental health parity and reducing the stigma around mental illness. It notes that over half of Americans will experience a mental illness in their lifetime, but only 40-50% receive needed treatment due to stigma. The author describes their own three-year struggle with depression and an eating disorder, during which they hid their illness and suffered greatly. Their family eventually intervened and insisted they get help, which they are now grateful for.

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    Essay on the Importance of Mental Health Parity

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    This document discusses the importance of mental health parity and reducing the stigma around mental illness. It notes that over half of Americans will experience a mental illness in their lifetime, but only 40-50% receive needed treatment due to stigma. The author describes their own three-year struggle with depression and an eating disorder, during which they hid their illness and suffered greatly. Their family eventually intervened and insisted they get help, which they are now grateful for.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    252 views1 page

    Essay On The Importance of Mental Health Parity

    Uploaded by

    Prince Batioco
    This document discusses the importance of mental health parity and reducing the stigma around mental illness. It notes that over half of Americans will experience a mental illness in their lifetime, but only 40-50% receive needed treatment due to stigma. The author describes their own three-year struggle with depression and an eating disorder, during which they hid their illness and suffered greatly. Their family eventually intervened and insisted they get help, which they are now grateful for.

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    A Helping Hand: An Essay On The Importance Of Mental Health

    Parity
    More than half of all Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness in their lifetime. But not
    everyone will receive the help they need. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness,
    only forty percent of adults and fifty percent of youth receive the medical help they need. Even
    though mental illness is common and can affect anyone, there is still a great stigma attached.
    This stigma creates reluctance and shame in seeking help. The acceptance and understanding
    of mental illnesses has come a far way from where it used to be, but improvements can, and
    should still be made.

    Mental illnesses should not be thought of any differently from physical illnesses. In fact, I believe
    the two are inseparable. Because the whole body is connected and interwoven, the two cannot
    be separated. The brain is an organ just like everything else in the body and can be hurt like
    everything else. When the brain is ill, it is not isolated in just the brain, but instead affects the
    whole body and the overall wellness. Substance abuse, self-harm, and suicide are very
    common and dangerous in those with mental illnesses. The stigma surrounding mental illness
    keeps people from getting the help they need to get better and causes them to hide their pain.

    For three years I was one of those people hiding my illness. I was quietly suffering from
    depression and an eating disorder. My whole day revolved around my eating disorder and
    hiding it from everyone. This caused a lot of sadness, anger, and loneliness. I not only hid it
    from others, but I also tried to hide it from myself. I tried to convince myself that nothing was
    wrong because I did not fully understand what was happening. I did not know what was making
    me hurt myself and why I could not stop. As my weight was decreasing, my sadness and anger
    were quickly increasing. I became so mad and upset at everyone and everything. The stress
    and pressure of holding everything in caused me so much misery. If something small happened,
    it became too much to handle and I had to release it somehow. The only way I could think of to
    handle this was to hit myself and other things until I forgot about all my pain. By this time, it was
    impossible to hide my illness, and my family finally found out my deep secret. They did not want
    to see me suffer like that and wanted to help. They tried their hardest to help, but they just did
    not know how to help me. They tried to get me to go see somebody and get help, but I refused. I
    was scared of admitting that I had a mental illness and that I needed help. I was worried that
    people would judge me, treat me differently, or even bully me if they found out about my mental
    illness. So, I refused to get any help. I insisted that I was okay and could fix it myself. After a
    while of getting worse, my parents made me an appointment and told me I was going to get
    help. I remember crying and begging my mother to not make me go, but she did, and I am so
    grateful to

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