I've written plenty about mental illness in here.
I've written how people with mental illness aren't understood and often don't get the support that they should because there's a stigma attached to it. I've written about how some are in situations that compound the situation even more than it already is.
The situations I've mentioned involve people already getting help. What about those who might need it, but aren't getting it?
I'm fairly certain there are a lot of people in this world who need some kind of help but aren't getting it either because they can't, they don't want to, or refuse to admit they have a problem.
Some of these people worry that if they are diagnosed even with just mild depression, that those they care about will abandom them. Or they worry that they will be looked upon differently, so they keep their issues to themselves. Some worry that they'll lose their job because they might be considered crazy.
That seems to be the biggest stigma. Too many people attach crazy with depression when that's not the case. How many times have you heard someone say they aren't going to a therapist/psychologist/doctor because it means they're crazy? I know at least in movies that's mentioned a lot and I have heard it a few times in my life. Someone probably should go, but they won't because it implies they're crazy.
Thus a big segment of people don't go to get help they might need.
Some turn to "alternative" forms of medicine to cope. In other words, they drink or do drugs. I dated a girl once who claimed the only time she felt "normal" was when she was drinking. In the end, it was because the alcohol was calming her nerves, but she was a mean person when she drank and thus made me not want to be around her. Problem was she never wanted to stop drinking and I didn't want to give up on her even though there was little I could do.
Most use drugs to escape because they can't cope with the real world. Some people avoid doing things because of how it makes them feel. I'll never forget watching the MTV True Life show on anxiety. There was one guy who could not drive across a bridge at all. It didn't matter how long or short the bridge was, he couldn't drive across it. Every day, they'd show him talking about how today was the day he was going to do it, yet every day he would avoid it. Another woman was OCD about cleaning. If she saw even the smallest piece of dust in a room, she'd clean the room from one end to the other without stopping no matter what she was supposed to be doing.
These people refused to get help because they didn't want to lose friends or family because of the stigma attached with the idea of going to see someone about it. They didn't want to be thought of as crazy. Instead they tried to find ways to avoid the things that made them anxious or depressed.
Of course, it's a problem. Instead of trying to find a way to treat the problem, they avoid things and never get the help they probably need.
Denial is the worst though.
They can't even admit that they have a problem, they just sit and act like everyone else is crazy or constantly dispute that there's an issue and it goes back to the stigma that is attached to any kind of mental problem.
Eventually it catches up to them though and they either have to face the issue or they completely lose the battle.
It just makes me sad to sit and think a lot of people don't get help because of what they're afraid it will do to them. I understand when people can't afford it because let's face it: without insurance, it's not cheap to try and get help. Even at my primary job, which specializes in mental health, it can be costly if you don't have insurance.
Ultimately though it seems the biggest deterrents are the stigma of people possibly thinking someone's crazy and/or lack of support from friends and family.
That said, how much of a friend are they then if they won't support you when you try to get help? How much does someone love you if they try to convince you nothing's wrong with you?
And what does this have to do with pharmacy?
The last question is easy. How many of you work in a pharmacy where the mental health/anxiety medications are your fastest movers? I'm willing to bet most pharmacies would qualify. I know both pharmacies I work in have mental health medications as some of their fastest movers.
What it comes down to is if someone's struggling, they need to know that someone, even if it's just one person, is there for them and will support them as they try and get better.
They need to know that the person treating them is going to be there for them, talk to them when needed, and do whatever they can to help them get better no matter what.
Finally, they need to know that the pharmacy will work with the doctor to make sure the right medications get prescribed for the patient.
Mental illness will never go away. But we can do what we can to make it easier for those who deal with it.
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