Renfrewshire woman's study finds 66% per cent of us are worried about discussing 'hidden' mental health problems
People experiencing mental health problems and other invisible illnesses worry about telling family, friends and employers, about their conditions, according to a new survey.
People experiencing mental health problems and other invisible illnesses worry about telling family, friends and employers, about their conditions, according to a new survey.
Research published for Invisible Illness Week, (this week) found that 66% of people surveyed would be hesitant telling an employer about a mental health issue, or invisible illness, such as ME, Fibromyalgia or Lyme Disease.
It also found that 65% wouldn’t feel comfortable telling their friends and 56% would struggle to tell their family.
The survey also revealed that 45% of people who experience mental health issues, alongside an invisible illness, find it hard to have physical symptoms taken seriously, as they are attributed to their mental health.
The survey of 114 people was carried out by Louise Smith and See Me, Scotland’s programme to end mental health discrimination. Mrs Smith, from Johnston, Renfrewshire, has trained as a community champion with See Me, to tackle stigma in targeted communities.
She wants to see changes to improve the lives of people who face duel stigma relating to mental health issues and invisible physical illnesses.
A key issue that arose from the research is that too many people are not given the help and support then need in health care and from friends and family, because they don’t look physically unwell.
Mrs Smith, 29, said that most of us are likely to know someone who suffers from an invisible illness or a mental health condition, but most people don’t know how to help.
She said: “When others believe you are a hypochondriac or it’s all in your head, it’s a very lonely place, and you stop reaching out to people and even to medical professionals, because it’s very deflating to have the same stigmatising experience over and over again.
“You are made to feel like you are imagining the fatigue that makes it feel like your legs are about to give way, the pain that controls your body the entire day and the diminished immune system which means you catch every little bug or cold.
“I think if others saw how we really were, on our worst days, at our worst moments with these conditions, they would be shocked, but maybe it would finally hit them just how much suffering we go through.
“But to do this, people with these conditions have to expose themselves at their most vulnerable, and if they have been hurt by others in relation to their illness before, it can be very frightening to do that.”
Calum Irving, See Me director, said: “For those who are experiencing both mental and invisible physical illnesses they can face duel stigma and unfair discrimination for two conditions.
“It is not fair that people have to worry about telling those closest to them that they need help and support. We all need to know that it is okay not to be okay and we all need to do what we can to be there, listen and not judge people.”