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“You’re smart, and you have decent grades, you can apply to a good college. Why study Psychology?”

“Oh! If you want to go into psychology, it must mean you need to help yourself.”

“If you’re not crazy now, you will be by the time you finish.”

“This profession has no scope in Pakistan. You must be dumb to be taking it.”

Ever since I decided I wanted to become a Clinical Psychologist, comments like these became an afterthought. Some people stared at me, shockingly enough, in disbelief. Others changed the topic entirely; was I a lost cause to them? Do they really believe that I am putting myself in a situation that has no hope of making progress? Perplexed by these questions, I decided to dig deeper. After a mountain of research and reading, I realized how wrong they were. Therefore, the more people criticize the path I have chosen for my self, the more determined I become to change this very mindset.

It is no big secret that for centuries, mental health has been a target of ignorance and rampant stigma, especially in Pakistan. What’s amusing is that the recipe for it doesn’t apply to any other medical conditions like heart disease or a stroke. We live in a world where if we break our arms, everyone comes running to our help. But if we tell people that we are depressed, we’re left with nothing but disregard. We are so accepting if any of our body parts break down barring the most important one – the brain.

How quick are we to judge, blame and shame individuals that suffer from mental illnesses? Whether people are suffering from Mood Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or an Eating Disorder, contrary to motivating them to seek help, we encourage them to hide from the world. And if you are a Schizophrenic patient in Pakistan, the illness itself isn’t the biggest of your nightmares. You don’t have hallucinations or delusions to worry about when your entire family abandons you or hands you over to “pirs” for religious “cleansing”.

Humor me while you mull over this question: When these sufferers commit crimes or commit suicide, why are we left wondering what went wrong? Isn’t the answer quite simple? They need help, and instead, we hurl blame and opinions at them that restrict help-seeking behavior.

“Oh, it’s all in your head.”
“Snap out of it.”
“Why are you depressed when you have everything?”
“Just think positive thoughts, and it will be okay.”

It is integral to understand that Mental illness can affect anybody, regardless of their race, gender, age or ethnicity. It is a common culture in our society to denounce those suffering from mental illnesses, assuming that those who have “very little” make up a large portion of the victims of these illnesses. In reality, however, it can stop anyone dead in their tracks. Whether you are a celebrity or the father of five in a village, each one of you can suffer from a mental illness. Without going into the intricate details of the reasons behind this, our biology along with the situational factors plays a crucial role.

Now, let’s address the statistics. In Pakistan alone, mental illness afflicts nearly 10 – 16 percent of the population. According to the WHO, only 400 psychiatrists and five psychiatric hospitals exist within the entire country for a population exceeding 180 million. This roughly translates to an alarming psychiatrist-to-person ratio of 1 to half a million people.

It is high time that we abandon our preconceived notions on mental illness and invest in increasing awareness on the magnitude of this problem before it becomes too late. How many more mental illness patients will have to suffer in silence because of the stigma and shame in our society? How much more will get lost in this entrenched resistance to care? How many more lives will it take for us to act?

Change begins with an idea, and it is driven by a single act. If even one of you reads this and registers that it is not your fault and it is okay to seek help; if even one of you encourages a student wanting to pursue a career in Psychology or Psychiatry instead of discouraging them, we will indeed witness change.