Weâve come a long way in recent years when it comes to talking about mental health â but there remains so, so much more people need to learn.
The proof is in the Twitter discourse occurring this week about Kanye Westâs mental health. The artist, who in 2018 revealed he has bipolar disorder, held a rally in South Carolina over the weekend where he made a series of concerning comments about slavery and abortion.
He has since posted a string of tweets, some of them seemingly addressing his familyâs concern over his emotional well-being. West said his wife, Kim Kardashian West, and mother-in-law Kris Jenner âtried to fly in with 2 doctors to 51/50 meâ (referring to the law for the temporary and involuntary psychiatric hold of individuals who present a danger to themselves or others due to signs of mental illness.) That tweet and many others have since been deleted.
West isnât the only celebrity whose mental health has become a matter of public discussion lately. People also continue to speculate about Britney Spearsâ well-being on her Instagram posts, where many users in comments continuously hurl insults about her mental health.
While many people â including celebrities â posted well-intentioned thoughts on social media about West and Spears, others took the opportunity to meme and joke about their behaviour. Terms like âcrazyâ and âinsaneâ are being thrown around.
The posts were uninformed at best, heartless and ignorant at worst.
The urge people have to post commentary on whatâs happening in the world is a main reason Twitter, Instagram and other platforms exist. However, that impulse shouldnât include a permission slip to be devoid of all compassion â especially when it comes to mental health. Belittling mental illness to a meme or a quip on Twitter doesnât make you funny, it makes you a jerk.
An estimated 1 in 5 people experience a mental health condition in any one year (but given the global health crisis weâre in, who knows â there could be an uptick in that). The stigma surrounding mental illness, especially serious mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, often prevents people from seeking proper help. Disparaging remarks about a celebrityâs mental state on social media only intensify that stigma.
So if you feel compelled to comment on a public figureâs mental health in the future (or anyoneâs for that matter), hereâs a guide to consider before posting:
Donât automatically equate certain behaviours with a personâs mental health status
Someone can make misogynistic, racist or absurd comments and not have a mental health issue. Someone can make them and also live with a mental illness.
âI want everyone to know that not all erratic behaviour means thereâs a mental health concern. And some folks who appear âfineâ are living with mental health diagnoses,â said Racine Henry, a therapist and owner of Sankofa Marriage and Family Therapy in New York.
âSometimes people do things without rhyme or reason and that is literally human nature,â Henry continued. âIf youâre going to speak on mental health without knowing the topic intimately, youâre in no position to judge a complete stranger, no matter how many of their records youâve bought or how long youâve followed them on Instagram.â
Donât diagnose
Most mental health professionals abide by the Goldwater Rule, which is an ethical standard designed to prevent therapists from diagnosing people who are not their patients, especially in the public. If these experts wonât make a conclusion about someoneâs condition from afar, those just observing from outside of the mental health field shouldnât either.
Not only that, you can be easily deceived by what you think you might be âwitnessing,â Henry said.
âI want everyone to know that mental health diagnoses look very different than what you are assuming or even what you may have experienced personally or with someone you know,â Henry said. âItâs impossible to compare because the rules donât apply across the board. Even when we make diagnoses as professionals, we rely on standard criteria but we also know people donât fit neatly into categories.â
Avoid stigmatising language
Words hold power. Using terms like âcrazy,â âinsane,â âovermedicated,â etc. in a casual manner can perpetuate negative stereotypes of mental illness. And those imprecise terms ignore the very real health problems someone might be experiencing.
âLabelling anyone is harmful because it minimises and dismisses their pain. Even among mental health professionals, those words are taboo and problematic,â Henry said. âPart of the problem we have with mental health as a society is that we talk about it and treat it as though itâs not germane to our overall health and well-being.â
âNobody is crazy or insane,â Henry added. âThere are people with mental illnesses and there are people with mental health diagnoses. All of whom deserve respect, adequate treatment and for their dignity to be observed.â
Learn from and lean on experts
âIf youâre going to say something, do your research,â Henry said. âBetter yet, listen to the actual professionals who have the training and experience to have the conversation.â
There are plenty of mental health professionals on social media who you can amplify during these types of conversations (here are a few accounts to start with). Educate yourself and your followers through their words and guidance.
Share resources
Mental health issues are invisible illnesses that can affect anyone, including your friends, family and followers â whether or not you know it. So make comments like someone you love will read it. If you want to positively contribute to the conversation, try sharing mental health resources or stories about your own experiences. It also would be helpful to post crisis lines, guides on how to find affordable therapy or other outlets where people can get help.
Donât blame anyone
In Westâs case, some shifted the blame to Kardashian West for not getting him help or controlling the situation. Others chastised West for not accepting help.
âWe need to stop placing blame on the people around them and the person in question, as well,â Henry said. âMental illness is nobodyâs fault and nobody can control another human being.â
You can also just ... not hit post
If you canât do any of the above, this is a good option. HuffPost editor Phil Lewis summed it up best:
Henry also underscored this point. âI think itâs better to not comment, in most cases,â she said. âWe donât know what that person struggles with every day. We donât know what their traumas are, even though we assume to know everything about public figures and we donât know what kind of progress they are making.â
When in doubt, log off, take care of your own mental health and be kind.
If you or someone you know needs help, mail icall@tiss.edu or dial 022-25521111 (Monday-Saturday, 8am to 10pm) to reach iCall, a psychosocial helpline set up by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).