PTSD Stigma

Recently singer Lady Gaga opened up about her mental health battle; disclosing her struggle with PTSD caused by sexual abuse at the age of 19. Journalist Piers Morgan felt the need to respond to Gaga’s vulnerability via twitter, even going as far as to call it “vain- glorious nonsense” and tried to claim that PTSD is an illness which only affects soldiers. Lady Gaga flawlessly and intelligently informed her audience of the misconceptions which Morgan was encouraging, however, the conversation about mental health is one that needs to be discussed.

During WWI, PTSD was known as “shell shock”, and it was only known to affect soldiers. Even today, some studies estimate that “1 in 5 military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has PTSD”. However, around 70% of adults in the US have experienced some kind of traumatic event, and 20% of those people go on to develop PTSD. (Around 31.3 million people) A majority of people suffering from this disorder have never served anytime in the military.

Morgan’s accusation, about sexual abuse not linking to PTSD, is completely disproves once one looks at the facts that “71% of female military personnel develop PTSD due to sexual abuse within the ranks”. 71% of women risking their lives for their country, develop a mental illness due to SEXUAL ABUSE, yet Piers Morgan fails to recognise the traumatic effect any kind abuse can have on a person.

Sadly, Morgan’s ignorance continues to be prevalent in many people, since many are unaware of the magnitude of individuals affected by numerous mental illnesses. The first step that people should take towards becoming more educated on this topic, is simply researching different mental illnesses. Secondly, people should realize that the only people who have the right to determine a person’s mental state is the person themselves, or a licensed professional. To think that anyone can look at a random stranger, and determine how their mind works, is disrespectful and degrading to that person. They know how they feel, and to tell them they are wrong, will only do more damage than good.

Generalizations, such as the ones made by Piers Morgan, hold back any progress that has been made in mental health research. I encourage everyone to become enlightened about an issue that affects millions of people every day.

What do you think? Comment Below!

Websites used:

http://www.healmyptsd.com/education/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-statistics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6obMGPr_SUs

 http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7624428/lady-gaga-piers-morgan-interview-rape-ptsd

http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a24205/lady-gaga-piers-morgan-twitter-feud/

In case you have a mental illness, and are seeking help:

http://www.crisistextline.org/

http://www.nami.org/

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/

Racial Awareness

Throughout history there has always been a group of people who were fighting to get equal rights as everyone else, mainly because there have always been a race, gender, or another socially dividing factor that has cause one group to be superior to another. It makes sense, that if one group is contently considered dominant over another, the weaker of the two groups would eventually stand up, and say enough is enough, and try to put a stop to it.  However, many people still get surprised or even infuriated when people try to stand up for themselves, as if it has not been going on for decades, even centuries.

For example, in America, Black History Month has happened every February since 1976, and before that, there was Negro History Week, every second week in February, since 1926. Why then, do people seem so surprised and offended every year it takes place? Some people have even gone as far as to say “White Live Matter Too”. Obviously most people can see how this can be very offensive to many people, since black people have had to overcome many obstacles in this country through the decades. Only until recently have they had mostly equal rights, considering that segregation only became illegal in 1954, and that was only truly for education, in the Brown V. Board of Education trail. True integration didn’t happen until much later. One of the main reasons for things like Black History Month is to inform people of facts like this, and of all of the amazing and courageous people who fought to make everyone equal. Without knowledge of these events, younger generations will never fully understand all the obstacles that people had to go though to make America the way it is today, and they will take for granted all of the freedoms that they have been given. The goal of any event that raises awareness is not to take away other people's rights, or to try and make one group superior over the other, but rather to help preserve the legacy of the people, who fought and even risked their lives, to create a better country for us to live in. Without awareness of theses people and events, all of their hard work would have been for nothing.

Obviously there are many more issues than just this one, such as: gay and transgender rights, feminism, Mexican immigration, stigmas about Muslims, the list could go on and on. However, the only way that any of the issues can find a solution is by raising awareness, which would allow everyone to realize that there are still issues that need to be fixed. Without the awareness of the issues going on around us, people would never get to look outside of the walls of their life, and see the disheartening amount of discrimination still going on in America alone. I understand that not everyone will agree with what everyone has to say, and that maybe what one person is standing up for is not something that you believe in. However, there is a difference in saying your opinion and deliberately trying to hurt someone else just for stating facts. I beg everyone to open up their hearts and their minds to, at the very least accept that, for one, some people are going to have different opinions than you, and also, the world is changing and the only thing you can do is hold on and hope for the best.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!