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Supporting Student Mental Health and Well-Being Mental Health Myths
Myths

Myth: Only people who are weak or have a flawed personality experience mental ill health.

Anyone can experience mental health problems. Middle class, well educated, popular people are just as likely to experience some form of mental ill health as anyone else. People of all ages, stages and backgrounds can find themselves facing a diagnosis of mental illness. This myth comes from the fear and stigma that surround mental health issues. If we believe that it is a problem associated with people different from ourselves we can feel safe, however this attitude leads to feelings of isolation and fear when faced with the reality of mental health problems.

Myth: When a person begins to feel less depressed the danger of suicide is over.

Often the risk of suicide can be greatest as depression lifts, or when a person appears to be calm after a period of turmoil. This can be because once a decision to attempt suicide is made, people may feel they have a solution, however desperate it may be.

(From Choose Life).

Myth: If somebody wants to end their life, they will, and there is nothing anybody can do about it.

Most people contemplating suicide do not want to die, they just want to end the pain they are experiencing. Although there are some occasions when nobody could have predicted a suicide, in most cases if appropriate help and support is offered to a person and they are willing to accept this help, a tragic outcome may be averted.

(From Choose Life).

Myth: Talking about suicide or asking someone if they feel suicidal will encourage suicide attempts

Serious talk about suicide does not create or increase risk; it can help to reduce it. The best way to identify the possibility of suicide is to ask directly. Openly listening to and discussing someone's thoughts of suicide can be a source of relief for them and can be key to preventing the immediate danger of suicide.

(From Choose Life).

Myth: Agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces

Agoraphobia is a fear of specific places where a person believes they may experience a panic attack or a severe anxiety attack. People with agoraphobia have usually had a panic attack in a specific place such as a supermarket or cinema and develop a fear of going into such places again. The fear may generalise to any area where lots of people gather and this limits the person's ability to go out. Another fear can be going alone into certain places and a person with agoraphobia often copes much better when with a friend.

Myth: Once you have a diagnosis of a mental illness you have it for life

Recovery from illness can mean a number of things. In some cases it means that a person has no further symptoms and in others it means that the person can live a full and active life with additional support or medication. Rarely does it mean that the person returns to exactly the way they were before the illness. This is also true of mental illness. Recovery is possible and most people go on to live productive and effective lives. Some people need to continue to take medication but the outcome for most people who have mental health difficulties is better than some common physical illnesses. Recovery does not necessarily happen smoothly however and people can have set backs along the way. It is important to recognise that this is a normal process in recovery from physical and mental illnesses and also distressing life events.

Go to the Recovery page for more information.

Myth: Learning problems are a form of mental illness

Learning disabilities are a form of developmental disorder usually caused by either a trauma to the brain before or after birth or by some inherited genetic problem. People with learning disabilities are not mentally ill, however, due to the barriers they may face there is a higher percentage of mental ill health within this group than in the wider population.

Myth: You can tell if someone has a mental illness by the way they look or act

Mental health problems are very common and the majority of people who have them are getting on with their lives in the work place and in social settings without anyone else being aware of their diagnosis. Some of the more severe illnesses, such as schizophrenia, require medication that can have unpleasant side effects that change the way the person acts, looks or moves. These 'odd' behaviours are caused by the medication not the illness. It might help a person to encourage them to discuss any unpleasant side effects with their doctor.

Myth: Mental illness is strange and unusual

One in four of us will experience some kind of mental health problem in any year. By the year 2020 the World Health Organisation expects depression to be the most common cause of death and disability in the world. Mental health problems are common but most people are unwilling to admit them because of the stigma attached to mental health issues in society.  The vast majority of people who experience a mental illness will never be hospitalised.

Myth: People with severe mental illnesses are violent

The number of violent crimes committed by people with severe mental health illnesses has fallen by 50% in the last 50 years whereas the number of violent crimes has risen by 500%. The media contributes to this myth by reporting violent crimes by people with mental disorders far more frequently than other violent crimes e.g. if a person is mugged in the centre of the city it is rarely reported but if the mugger has a history of mental health problems it makes the front page.

When a person is in an acute stage of their illness they may be very frightened or confused and so should be approached with caution.

Myth: People with schizophrenia never get better

Evidence shows that recovery from schizophrenia is possible and that people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia recover more quickly when they are encouraged by information about recovery. One third of all people who are diagnosed with a psychotic condition will recover and never have another episode, another third will recover with the help of medication and support and a final third will need significant ongoing treatment and support. Read more information from the Scottish Recovery Network or go to the Recovery page on this site.

Myth: Self harm is failed suicide

Self harming does sometimes take the form of overdosing or cutting the wrists yet it is not usually a form of failed suicide. People who self harm often say that they want to live whereas a person who makes a suicide attempt usually states that they want to die. Self harm is often the only way the person knows to relieve feelings of intolerable distress. Look at the Self Harm section of this website to get more information.

Myth: Self harm is attention seeking behaviour

Self harming is usually a means of survival, particularly for a person who finds it difficult to cope with and/or express very painful emotions. People who self harm often do so in secret and are therefore at risk from untreated wounds and untreated emotional and mental distress. Attention seeking is a term often used in a judgmental way yet a person who is in real distress and is hurting themselves because they are not coping is very much in need of attention and help. If a person confides in you that they self harm it is important to listen without judgment or shock and to try to encourage the person to get professional help. 

Go to the Self Harm section on this website.

Myth: People who talk about suicide never attempt or complete suicide

People who talk about their suicidal thoughts do attempt suicide. Many people who complete suicide have told someone about their suicidal feelings in the weeks prior to their death. Listening and supporting a person in these circumstances can save lives.

(From Choose Life).