Mentally Unstable

There's a pill for that.

There's a pill for that.

Want to know something that really ticks me off?

Psychiatry.

Or rather, society's general view on the implications of psychiatry.

"I don't need no pills!"

I was raised in a family like this. My mother constantly put down other people who had been diagnosed with serious mental illnesses (such as depression, bipolar disorder, etc). She said they took medications to "check out" of life, as if it was some sort of luxury to be on medication. It is not a luxury to be on medication. Sure, there are people who abuse it, and there are people who don't need it. But there are real demands for these medications because...

"Wait, mental illnesses are real?"

You bet your ass they are. There are infinite studies concerning the evidence of mental illnesses and how they affect people. Yet, there exists an astounding number of people who "don't believe" in mental illnesses. Why? Perhaps because mental illnesses aren't easy things to categorize. They differ in each individual, and there still remains an extraordinary amount of undiscovered truths about the mind in general. When you think about it, it makes sense. Physical illnesses affect people differently as well. Not everyone has the same symptoms of the same disease. The brain is an organ. If you had to take medications for liver problems because a doctor recommended it, you most likely would, and no one would question you. Unfortunately, with our brains, that's not the case.

"Medication doesn't work."

Not true. Although some medications are not compatible with certain people's brain chemistry, some do. Drugs are uniformly made and, unfortunately, mental illnesses are specific to individuals. Some drugs may not work on certain people. Furthermore, it may take a while to kick in, as in the case of anti-depressants, which have to build up within your body's system before they can work.

"I don't believe in therapy."

You don't have to believe in therapy, but it exists. Clinical studies show massive positive correlations with cognitive therapy treatments. The power of the mind shouldn't be underestimated. You'd be surprised the things your brain can do (i.e., the placebo effect).

So the next time you decide to completely deny the existence of mental illnesses, be sure to remember how much of an idiot you are.