Stigma

Although times have changed considerably, medicine and technology having taken huge leaps forward; there still remains a stigma when it comes to diseases that affect the brain. Most of us have a loved one, maybe a parent, partner or someone in the family suffering from Alzheimer’s or Dementia. Both of these diseases are wickedly cruel, the person we once knew and loved so well slowly vanish before our eyes, leaving but an empty shell behind. Parkinson's affecting the brain, in its later stages sadly a form of dementia sets in. Why is it perfectly acceptable to talk about diabetes, asthma, blocked arteries, or slipped disks? But mention any disease associated with the brain, and the long attached stigma rears up its ugly head. With the fountain of information one has easy access to, many programmes on television, articles in newspapers and magazines, no stigma in today's society should remain when talking about mental health. When I was a child, anyone with Cancer would use the "big C word" instead of saying the word "Cancer", almost like in the Harry Potter stories of not mentioning "You know whose name", afraid of saying the name "Voldemort" out loud. Calling a spade a spade and using the proper name out loud enforces courage to face a battle giving us the determination to win. Today thankfully diagnosis, treatments and surgery are vastly improved, and understanding and talking about Cancer have come an awfully long way over the years. Let's hope that the stigma attached to mental disease will become a thing of the past. Education is power - so let's get educated!