 Hello, Psych2Goers! We just want to take the time to thank you for all your kind support. We are a team of dedicated, passionate, and hard-working individuals who come together every day with one goal in mind. We want to make psychology come alive for you. We are self-funded and recently launched our Patreon. If you enjoy the work we do and find it meaningful, please stick around until the end of the video for information on how to get more involved with us and all the cool rewards you can get from us. We hope you enjoy this video. People are often afraid of seeking treatment for their symptoms of mental health problems because they worry about how the rest of the world will perceive them. Will my boss rethink his decision of promoting me? Will I be a burden to my girlfriend? What will my family and friends think of me? These are all common questions that people fear. As a result, seeking professional help is usually postponed due to the stigma surrounding mental illnesses. We urge you to join us in the movement of stopping it. Here are six misleading conceptions about mental illness. Number 1. You're either mentally ill or mentally healthy. Adapting this black-or-white mindset is what creates stigmas around mental illness in the first place. It is popularly believed that as long as there is no family history of mental illness, then the individual is healthy and safe. But the biological factor only plays one role. External factors, such as the environment and one's upbringing, can cause someone's mental health to spiral down. It's also easy to hide behind a smile. People with a great career, a caring spouse, and a loving family can suffer silently with a mental illness. But it comes off as a surprise because you wouldn't know unless that individual disclosed that information with you. There's a spectrum and we all fall somewhere on it. Similar to wounds and cuts, it can range from mild to severe. Number 2. People with a mental illness are more likely to be violent. The news often links school shootings or other violent incidents to mental illness. Although it is frequently portrayed that criminals have mental illnesses, many people with mental illnesses actually aren't violent. According to the American Psychological Association, only 7.5% of crimes are linked to mental illness. Factors such as unemployment, poverty, and substance abuse are usually more common reasons why people commit crimes. But this isn't acknowledged enough. Instead, the public concentrates more on what people with mental illness are doing wrong instead of giving credit to what they accomplish every day. Number 3. People with a mental illness can hold down a job or maintain relationships. This one is such a slap in the face. Although people with severe mental illnesses face challenges and limitations that can highly affect their ability to work or make social connections with others, the same does not apply to the majority of the population who have mental health conditions. Mood disorders such as depression and anxiety may cause the individual to become more stressed or demotivated to carry out tasks at work. But by seeking therapy and practicing techniques, the individual still holds potential to get better and accomplish what needs to be done. People with mental illnesses are also capable of maintaining relationships. There may be times where things feel incredibly unstable, but even relationships between people who don't have mental illnesses can break based on many other factors. Number 4. Everything can be fixed with medication. Although medication for disorders such as anxiety and depression can help, it's not the only option for treatment. In fact, usually medication alone is not enough to help the individual. They may also need to seek psychotherapy, which involves talk sessions with professional therapists, joint support groups, or use self-help techniques, such as meditation and breathing exercises. Depending on the side effects, certain medication may not always help. It's important to talk to a doctor about your options and the right dosage that can benefit you the most. Number 5. People with a mental illness who contemplate or attempt suicide are attention seekers. Unfortunately, many people suffering from a mental illness who enter a dark place and think about or attempt suicide are often looked down upon in society. Instead of providing them with emotional support or offering resources that can help them, people are too busy judging them for having problems rather than finding solutions. As a result, those with mental illnesses often suffer silently and feel alienated because the public refuses to understand and prefers to attack them. Number 6. Mental illness is forever and defines who you are. People with mental illness are often misperceived to be weak. But if an athlete who is physically strong and generally considered fit and healthy were diagnosed with cancer, they wouldn't be considered weak. It's important to apply the same concept to mental illness. Just because someone has one does not mean that they are mentally weak. In fact, many people with mental illnesses are usually mentally strong because of the endurance and willpower they train their minds to adapt. Although some severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia don't have a cure yet, with various scientific breakthroughs happening in modern age today, many mental illnesses are treatable. It's important to recognize that a mental health problem does not and should not define any individual. What are your concerns with the way mental illness is portrayed today? Please share your thoughts with us below. Also, don't forget to subscribe for more content from Psych2Go and check out our Patreon. We started it because we want to grow into a bigger platform that reaches more people who are in need of help. With your contribution, you can receive our Psypendant, T-shirt, issues of our magazine, and many more membership benefits. Your funding will help us produce quality script writing, voiceovers, and animation that makes our content both entertaining and educational. We want to make sure our community members get the best and only the best. Thanks for watching. Hey everybody, I just want to give a personal thank you video for you guys for always supporting Psych2Go and making this all possible for us. Our vision is to make psychology as accessible as possible so that it promotes self-awareness and it helps you guys grow. However, we want to make more content for you guys and we would love your support in buying one of these bracelets from our partner, Introvert Palace. Check out the bracelet, it's pretty cool and it even includes Pluto. The link to purchase will all be in the description below and I hope you guys have an amazing day. Bye.