1. People with mental illness just need to change the way they think
Negative thought patterns can be improved dramatically with proper treatment; however, individuals with mental illness can’t get better by simply deciding to think differently.
2. People with mental illness are violent
Taken as a group, people with mental illness are no more violent than people without mental illness. In fact, people with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of it.
3. People with mental illness are weak
Mental illness stems from a variety of biological and environmental factors, not individual weakness.
4. People with mental illness are strange and unpredictable
Some forms of mental illness can manifest through odd or unpredictable behaviors, but most people with mental illness lead active, productive lives without anyone around them knowing what they’re going through.
5. Mental illness will never affect me
Nearly 44 million Americans experience mental illness each year, so it’s the rare individual whose life will never be touched by it.
