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I think we really addressed an important issue during class when we talked about the differences between mental and physical illness—because our society clearly does not see them as being the same or equal (although the recent insurance policy change that made coverage equal for both is a very big step forward). I definitely do think that there is a stigma that exists against mental illness that does not exist for physical illness. This stigma exists in America, but I know there are other societies where it is worse. At least in America counselors and clinical psychologists are fairly accessible and are visited by clients regularly. In more collectivistic and conservative countries like Korea, people Koreans tend to keep any mental illness within the family and are very secretive about it. It is almost shameful to disclose that you are suffering from a mental illness.

I think a large part of this stigma arises from the fact that some view mental illness as a weakness or something that can be fixed by one’s own will. Contributing to this view is that fact that mental illness treatment involves things like verbal counseling and changes in lifestyle (which may appear simple but can be extremely difficult for the client). Psychologists do not perform surgery or run physical tests, and I think this lack of objective, structured treatment is what causes mental illness to be viewed as something that does not need treatment and can be treated with one’s willpower. Moreover, mental illnesses tend to be specific to the person—with no two cases being exactly the same. Thus, this high variability may also contribute to the argument that mental illness is a personal issue that has to be dealt with by the person and his/her family. Mental illness in this sense (in treatment and diagnosis) is not as straightforward as and more mysterious than physical illness. I feel like there is a fear of the unknown, in addition to the more subjective nature of mental conditions, that causes people to dismiss mental illness as not being as legitimate/valid (for the lack of a better word) as physical illness…