{"id":7197,"date":"2022-05-02T09:48:13","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T13:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=7197"},"modified":"2025-08-23T17:39:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T21:39:45","slug":"breaking-the-mental-health-stigma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2022\/05\/02\/breaking-the-mental-health-stigma\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Mental Health Stigma"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0May is Mental Health Awareness Month. A time to raise awareness of mental illness and its impact on wellbeing. It was established in 1949 as an approach to fight stigma, educate the public and provide support. Services for mental health have vastly improved over the years. However, the stigma remains strong.<\/span><\/p>\n

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May is dedicated to raising mental health awareness.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Julie Clavette and Sue Hillegass, employees of Aroostook Mental Health Center, have been working on breaking the mental health stigma. \u201cI chose to work in mental health because of its familiarity,\u201d Clavette said. \u201cI have grown up in a family that struggles with their own mental wellness. Myself included. I hope to contribute to making mental illness more understood and destigmatized.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI think that it\u2019s a shame that there is still a lot of stigma around mental health issues,\u201d Hillegass said. \u201cI feel a lot more people would reach out for the support they need. But they don\u2019t for the fear of what others will think about them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Mental health issues are known to be looked upon as a shameful secret. Those who struggle hesitate to seek help. Some are afraid of being called \u201ccrazy.\u201d They want to avoid being judged. The effects of stigma can be worse than the mental issue itself. This can lead to isolation and feelings of loneliness. \u201cThe stigma of mental health is perpetuated by a lack of identification. An understanding of how it presents in reality,\u201d Clavette said. \u201cKnowing how to spot warning signs and how to help is key. Reduce the ambivalence in responding to mental illness.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The mental health stigma tends to be common among military veterans. Many veterans are reluctant to reach out for help. And many are left struggling. \u201cSome veterans have disturbing memories. Which heightens mental health symptoms,\u201d U.S. Marine veteran Gil Dionne said. \u201cSome symptoms include high anxiety, frustration and depression.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBreaking the mental health stigma for veterans can be a difficult task,\u201d Hillegass said. \u201cWhile in the military, veterans were likely to have been exposed to some stressful situations. Which makes readjusting to civilian life difficult. Veterans may feel that seeking help for mental health issues is a sign of weakness. That goes against how they have been trained in the military.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cA lot of veterans who don\u2019t get help become addicted to drugs and alcohol,\u201d Dionne said. \u201cSome become homeless. A lot of them end up committing suicide. Getting out into the world seems chaotic after the military. When you get out, you feel lost.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Support for veterans is unique. It\u2019s necessary to find the right treatment option. \u201cThere is a discouraging lack of professionals who are qualified to treat such a prevalent need,\u201d Clavette said. \u201cMental health looks different for everyone and should be treated on an individual basis.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fortunately, the United States Department of Veteran Affairs offers services tailored for the needs of veterans. \u201cA lot of the people at the VA are veterans and can provide proper help,\u201d Dionne said. \u201cThey know what they are talking about because they learned first-hand. They\u2019ve been there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With the right support, people can get better. Treatment can be effective no matter who you are. Many services are available. It\u2019s important to reach out and seek help. \u201cEducation and conversations about mental health need to continue,\u201d Hillegass said. \u201cTo eliminate the stigma attached to it for any population.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0May is Mental Health Awareness Month. A time to raise awareness of mental illness and its impact on wellbeing. It was established in 1949 as an approach to fight stigma, educate the public and provide support. Services for mental health have vastly improved over the years. However, the stigma remains strong. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Julie Clavette and Sue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8141,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7197\/revisions\/8141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}