Title: Why Don’t People Seek Help for Mental Illness? | High Watch Recovery
Headings: Why Don’t People Seek Help for Mental Illness?
Why Don’t People Seek Help for Mental Illness?
Stigma.
They don’t think they need it.
Their conditions make it hard.
There are practical issues.
They are scared of treatment.

Content: The third way people can be unaware they need help is a condition called anosognosia. This typically occurs in about half of people with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. They are essentially so impaired by their illness that they are unaware there’s anything wrong. Their conditions make it hard. Many conditions can make seeking help hard for many different reasons. Even if someone with depression thinks change is possible, finding a therapist and making an appointment might fall under the category of “impossible tasks”–tasks that aren’t a big deal under normal circumstances, but unbearably difficult when you’re depressed. Social anxiety disorder can make the prospect of telling your doctor about your problem or calling a therapist to set up an appointment extremely intimidating. Just as it’s almost impossible to drive yourself to the hospital when you have a bad flu, having a mental illness can make it extremely hard to seek treatment on your own initiative. This is why the support of friends and family is so important and why we need public programs to help people without that support. There are practical issues.