A man by the name of Thomas Szasz published a book in 1961 called, The Myth of Mental Illness,

Thomas Szasz 在 1961 年出版了《心理疾病的神話》這本書，

discussing his belief that mental illnesses were unnecessary diagnosis used to excuse the behavior of moral and socially deficient people.

他在書中表明心理疾病為不必要的診斷，是道德或社交有缺陷的人的行為藉口。

Some people still have this view of mental illnesses,

有些人對心理疾病仍然抱有這種觀點。

but the majority of the public have gotten to understand over the years what a mental illness is really about.

但近年來，大多數民眾已經逐漸明白什麼是心理疾病 。

Although we have come to a better understanding of it, there's still tons of myths about it that can have harmful effects on the treatment of those with psychological conditions.

雖然我們已經比較瞭解心理疾病了，但許多迷思仍舊存在，而這可能會對心理疾病患者的治療造成不良影響。

So, today, we'll be talking about 5 harmful myths about mental illnesses.

今天我們將討論五個關於心理疾病有害迷思。

1. People with mental disorders are likely to be violent.

一、心理疾病患者通常都有暴力傾向。

The Sun, a newspaper in the United Kingdom, released an article saying that over 1,200 had been killed by people with mental illnesses in the past 10 years in England.

英國《太陽報》所發表的一篇文章指出，英國有超過 1,200 人在過去十年中被心理疾病患者殺害。

The statistics were true, but what they failed to inform was that 97% of the accounted deaths were from suicides.

這個統計數字是正確的，但他們並未說明納入統計的死亡案例中，有 97% 為自殺。

In actuality, criminal behavior in people with mental illnesses is very small,

事實上，犯罪行為在心理疾病族群中相當罕見，

and mentally ill people are the ones who are more likely to experience domestic violence and sexual abuse.

而心理疾病患者反而通常才是家暴或性虐待的受害者。

They're more likely to suffer an intense psychological reaction to being victimized.

他們更有可能因受害而產生強烈的心理反應。

2. People can pull themselves out of a mental illness if they really wanted to.

二、只要願意，就可以讓心理疾病痊癒。

A popular myth, especially with people with depression and anxiety,

這是個廣為人知的迷思，特別是針對憂鬱症及焦慮症患者，

is just that the person is being over-sensitive and could easily fix the problem.

認為該患者對於可以輕易解決的問題過於敏感。

This is where the phrases, "They just want attention" or "They like feeling miserable" come into play.

於是出現「他們只是想吸引注意力」或「他們喜歡痛苦的感覺。」這樣的說詞。

Mental illnesses often have a genetic factor that influences the predisposition and chemical imbalances that can't easily be conquered by sheer willpower.

心理疾病通常受遺傳因素影響，使得化學物質分泌不平衡，光靠意志力難以克服。

It's difficult to even take the first step by seeking help,

即使只是跨出第一步尋求幫助

and working up the courage to even admit to yourself that there's a serious problem.

和鼓起勇氣承認自己有問題都是很困難的。

Finding a therapist and having to go through a trial and error process that takes up a large amount of time is difficult as well.

尋找治療師，並花大量的時間反覆進行治療及試驗也很艱辛。

Some people even choose to fight it themselves.

有些人甚至選擇獨自奮鬥。

Dealing with a mental illness can be scary, emotionally draining and exhausting.

處理心理疾病可能是件很可怕、耗損情緒，並讓你精疲力盡的事。

Having to pull yourself together and fighting through, while taking any ounce of support you can get... is quite difficult.

要振作起來並對抗病魔，同時接受所有你能得到的支援，並不容易。

3. Love and support are the absolute cures to mental illnesses.

三、愛與支持是心理疾病的保證解藥。

Therapists and doctors will always tell you that social support is a very important factor when it comes to the recovery process,

治療師與醫生會告訴你，社會支持在治療的過程中是極為重要的因素，

but it may not always be the surefire way to fix someone's mental illness.

但卻不一定是治癒心理疾病的絕對保證。

We've all seen movies where a child with a serious behavioral problem or a girl who suffers from emotional outbursts is made completely better by the end of the movie because someone went out of their way to inspire a sudden realization that they, too, can be loved.

我們都曾在電影裡看過類似情節，行為嚴重偏差的孩子或有情緒管理問題的女孩，在電影的結尾完全康復了， 因為某人竭盡所能地讓他們領悟到：他們同樣有被愛的權利。

It's a touching concept, but if you expect this in real life, you'll be thoroughly disappointed.

這個概念很感人，但如果你期待在現實中遇到同樣的事，你會徹底失望。

They can be afraid of rejection in socialization.

患者可能會害怕在社交時被拒絕。雖然在對抗病魔的過程中，有人幫助你、支持你、關心你是件好事，

Although it's great having someone helping and supporting you along your fight, showing that they care about you, a mentally ill person could have a hard time even believing that in the first place.

但心理疾病患者可能很難相信你的心意。

Expecting progress from showing love and affection on the same level support every single day will be harder,

期望病況好轉而每天付出的愛與關懷會讓他們很辛苦，

especially on a particularly bad day for the person that's being helped.

尤其是在患者狀況特別不好的時候。

4. Having a mental illness is a social death sentence.

四、患有心理疾病就等於在社交生活中被判了死刑。

The awareness of mental illnesses and what causes them has more than doubled since the 1950s.

自 1950 年代以來，人們對於心理疾病及其病因的認識已翻倍成長。

Mental illnesses have become highly aware of and have become more acceptable.

心理疾病這個議題備受關注, 人們對其接受度也越來越高。

More so than physical illnesses in some cases.

某些情況下，對它的重視甚至超越了身體疾病。

Some even see it that having a mental illness is a sign of a greater understanding of what it means to be a human being.

有些人甚至認為，罹患心理疾病象徵著你對人性有更深刻的了解。

Ardilla Gomez found that even living near a place that offers mental health services can raise the rates of acceptance and understanding from 21% to over 80% of the population.

Ardilla Gomez 發現，即使只是住在心理健康照護機構附近，大眾對心理疾病的認知和接受度也會從 21% 提升至 80% 以上。

People without mental illnesses are understanding what some people go through and are willing to go out of their way to help if they can.

沒有心理疾病的人會理解患者的經歷，並樂於在有能力時伸出援手。

5. You will become your label.

五、你會被貼標籤。

This is a big fear when it comes to making the decision of going to a mental health professional.

這是在決定是否尋求專業心理協助時會面臨的強烈恐懼。

Instead of a person, you'll feel labeled as a manic-depressive, an anorexic, a schizophrenic, etc.

你不再是一個普通人，而是會被貼上躁鬱症、厭食症、思覺失調症等標籤。

Some clients end up feeling like they aren't seen and valued as a person.

有些患者最後甚至覺得自己不被當人看待，也不受重視。

Rogerian therapists have pushed for first-person terminology. For example, instead of "an autistic child" you use "a child with autism".

羅傑斯學派的治療師極力推廣使用第一人稱的稱謂。例如，改稱「自閉症兒童」為「患有自閉症的小孩」。

This puts emphasis on the person and not the illness.

這把焦點放在人而非疾病。

Some researchers have even debated if telling their clients their official diagnosis is beneficial for their recovery process.

一些研究者甚至爭論，告訴患者正式診斷結果是否有助於康復。

If the client is feeling like the mental disorder itself is the only thing that his or her therapist or doctor is focused on,

如果患者覺得自己的治療師或醫生，只把焦點放在心理疾病上，

it's highly recommended that they find a new one.

那麼我強烈建議患者另尋他處治療。

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如果你喜歡今天的影片，請訂閱 Psych2Go。別忘了追蹤我們的臉書、推特、以及 Tumblr。