Verified by 
NPR has called mental illness in America a “silent epidemic,” one that neither the individuals suffering nor those close to them -- friends, parents, colleagues, teachers -- speak about. Some don’t dare. Others are simply unaware of what’s going on. Whatever the reason, millions upon millions of people are not getting the help they need.
Having struggled my entire life with OCD, anxiety and depression, I know all too well that the sheer pain and angst of saying something can be prohibitive. At the time in the world when I was first asking myself what my strange symptoms meant (the 1970s and ‘80s), such things were intentionally kept secret. Even in therapy, it never occurred to me to talk about the fact that I couldn’t control the impulse to pluck out my eyelashes and eyebrows. Not once did I bring it up; not once did it occur to me bring it up. The shame was that deep and ingrained.
It is this very shame, along with a deeply-rooted fear of stigma, that keeps a significant number of people who struggle with mental illness from speaking up about their condition.
Sadly, this is exacerbated by a general lack of awareness about the signs and symptoms of mental health issues. I never even learned that I had OCD or that this was the reason I plucked out my eyebrows and lashes until the embarrassingly late age of 52. That’s because I never asked. How could I have asked when I was too confused by my experience to find the right words?
For many, the silence, the shame and the stigma persist, destroying self-esteem, alienating them and resulting in utter devastation. This cloak of silence and secrecy also prevents people from seeking the treatment and support they need.
It makes no sense, though, in a culture that refers openly to a plethora of other common issues like asthma and allergies, IBS and psoriasis. Although over the years mental illness has gotten more and more air time, the battle to bring mental health issues into popular parlance is far from won.
To further normalize conversation, the first step is to lift the taboo around calling mental illnesses by their name. Here’s how:
Identify the illness.
Mental illnesses come in all shapes and sizes, from depression and anxiety to OCD, eating disorders and addiction. Be intentional about identifying the specific condition you, a friend or a loved one is suffering from. This will help make the condition and its manifestations seem less mysterious and confusing, lifting a layer of stigma. Explaining to a child that he has asthma, a condition which affects his breathing, evokes less fear in that child than simply telling him he has a lung problem.
Get in the habit of calling each illness by its name.
When consistently referred to by its proper name, a mental health condition becomes merely an aspect of the individual suffering from it rather than a defining characteristic -- as with asthma or allergies. After all, just as nobody chooses to have asthma or is identified by it, nobody chooses to have -- or should be identified by -- OCD.
Be intentional in talking openly about mental illness.
Whether you struggle personally with a mental health condition or know somebody who does, be intentional in speaking about it openly. Again, think of how you’d speak of asthma. The condition itself won’t go away, but with a name and no shame it becomes just another aspect of whoever has it. It can be managed.
Finally, remember: speaking up will lead to a domino effect that will go a long way toward alleviating suffering and devastation. The more you and your family increase your comfort with accurately discussing mental illness, the more mental illness will be met with acceptance and understanding.
**
About Maggie Lamond Simone
Maggie Lamond Simone is an award-winning columnist and author. With two titles already to her name, her third book, Body Punishment: OCD, Addiction and Finding the Courage to Heal (Central Recovery Press) was released in April 2015. It traces Simone’s journey struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and depression. Her writing has been featured in multiple publications and collections, including From Beer to Maternity (2009), Cosmopolitan Magazine, The Zen of Midlife Mothering (2013), Not Your Mother’s Book on Do-It-Yourselfers (2013), P.S. What I Didn’t Say (2009), and multiple Chicken Soup for the Soul editions. Simone has been a guest on NPR and is a regular blog columnist for the Huffington Post. An adjunct professor in the department of communications at SUNY Oswego and Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, she lives in Central New York with her husband and two children.
About Body Punishment
For as long as she can recall, Maggie Lamond Simone has been plagued by self-loathing and urges to harm herself physically while emotionally sabotaging her life. In Body Punishment: OCD, Addiction and Finding the Courage to Heal (Central Recovery Press, April 2015), she reveals it all. The obsessive thoughts that drove her to cut, starve, pick, drink, pluck, purge, and otherwise hurt herself. The profound shame, the utter despair and the confusion over her own inner workings that prevented her from establishing stable, long-term goals and healthy relationships. Through this poignant story of her painful, eye-opening journey she explores the issues of substance abuse, anxiety, and depression that commonly occur with OCD, all in an effort to further the dialogue around mental illness and eliminate the shame and help others find a way forward toward healing.
