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Mental Illness IS a Valid Excuse
I am a Mentor on campus, and the other day, I had a Mentee tell me that she couldn't make it to this extracurricular activity she had signed up for because she had a lot of work to do and her anxiety was acting up. I know the chair of the activity, and we both agreed that it was alright and that she should focus on herself first. She thanked us for being so understanding, and my response was, "Of course!" Because, to me, it seems obvious that she should take care of herself and her mental health first. However, as I thought about it, I realized that it's not that obvious to most people. There are so many employers and teachers who don't understand that mental health is important. Because mental illness is invisible, many people don't believe in it.
I brought this realization up with the rest of my NAMI on Campus executive board, and I received such an overwhelming agreement that we decided something had to be done. We all admitted to having to lie and say they are physically ill when we can't go to class or get an assignment done on time, when it is really our mental illness acting up. Why should we be so afraid to be honest about this?
The NAMI on Campus Vice President shared a recent blog post with us called "Anxiety Is An Invalid Excuse," which very accurately portrays what a person with a mental illness goes through when he or she is not able to do something because that person's illness is acting up. The author describes the thought process of trying to decide what to tell her professor when she can't go to class because of a panic attack, of trying to explain to her friends that she can't go out to dinner with them because she simply can't get out of bed, and of trying to decide whether or not to tell people that she is on medication for her illness. She knows the stigma that surrounds mental illness. She is afraid that if she shares her anxiety with people, they will think she's lazy, crazy, or even lying. She is starting to believe these things herself. She tells herself that anxiety is not a valid excuse because she is giving in to the stigma surrounding mental illness.
The Wall Street Journal posted an article in 2011 which said that colleges and universities are struggling with the practice of giving students accommodations and support for their mental health issues. Faculty and staff members don't want to have to "play detective" to determine if a student has a serious mental illness. They also worry that giving students too much care won't prepare them for the real world. They know that mental illness is not usually a valid excuse in the workforce, and instead of advocating for students with mental health issues, they are feeding into the stigma and propagating it.
This is a problem affecting students and employees not only in the United States, but also around the world. According to a survey carried out in England and published by Daily Mail, 69% of employers don't believe mental illness warrants time off work, even though 25% of them suffer from it themselves. A Medscape article says that 33% of job candidates in the United States are rejected or have their job offers rescinded when a mental illness is disclosed, and 50% of employers admitted to not hiring someone who has a history of mental illness. This goes against the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), which states that employers need to make reasonable accommodations for employees with physical and mental disabilities.
Since even a law isn't stopping employers and schools from discriminating against those with mental illnesses and disabilities, the only way to change their behavior is to change their attitudes, which is done by raising awareness and increasing their knowledge about mental health. The ADA was proposed and approved because people with physical and mental disabilities have the same rights as everyone else. Just because a mental illness or disability isn't as visible as most physical ones doesn't mean they don't exist. Everyone's mental health is important. MentalHealth.gov says that positive mental health lets people realize and live out their full potential, cope with life stresses, work productively, and make meaningful contributions to their communities. If schools and workplaces want their students and employees to succeed, they need to promote their mental health, not denounce and stigmatize it.