This article was written by ‘E.G.’, a survivor, artist, writer and obnoxious comedian based in Liverpool.
We enter this world naive and oblivious to the nature of how society treats individuals and our mental health. Society has advanced in such a way that impacts the innocent’s chances in life. They say we have choices and freedom of speech when it comes to what happens to us or what is discussed about us, but in reality it’s very different to that. We find ourselves in a position when we need to ask for help that we are left at the mercy of a system that seldom gives us any say in our treatment.
I am an individual who has experienced childhood trauma and I found myself facing mental health professional after mental health professional through a system that was supposed to help me and guide me on a path of recovery, but instead found myself covered with an overabundance of labels; none of which I was given the chance to have a say about.
I and many others who I know have entered the system, entered with blind hope and the illusion that we will be helped and looked after, taking us to the end when we can finally say goodbye at the right time. But instead however, we are greeted with a professional who does not ask us much more about ourselves than our names and if we’re feeling suicidal. They tick a few boxes, ask you about your symptoms to a diagnosis you did not even know you had, prescribe some medication and you are right as rain, moved along so the next person can be seen. Like a conveyor belt. We are not given the space to vocalise who we are or to have any input in our treatment and even if on the small chance that we are, we are instantly overshadowed by professionals who think they know us, but only through paperwork of what other professionals have said about us, who did not listen to us either. Or they misconstrued what we were trying to say, turning it in to traits of something or another diagnosis in itself. We are instantly judged on our personal background; whether we grew up in poor or affluent environments, whether we have a criminal record, a history of substance misuse or our educational needs, which to them deems whether or not we can comprehend our treatment needs.
I should clarify here that by labels I mean diagnoses. We are given labels which a lot of the time do not fit us adequately and are subject to change at any given moment with no input from ourselves, that more often than not we are not even told about. Most of these diagnoses that stick, leaves a long lasting effect that stays with us for the rest of our lives; leaving us with the stigma that we will encounter in all aspects of life and hinders us through prejudices of other people, potential employers or in our educational endeavours. All hopes of a regular life separate from our mental health issues lost. Our self esteem shattered by professionals who did not care about the impact of the flick of their pen on a diagnosis that might as well have been a death sentence on the future we hoped to have. Labels that seems to be our only way in to a system that is supposed to help us. A system guarded by gatekeepers who blocks help to those in need, who might not fit the labels they deem are only worthy of help. Those who are considered to only suffer with “mild” mental health deserve just as much consideration as those the professionals deem to have more “complex” issues. Labels should not be the criteria for help, it should be the individual’s experience of their own mental health. These labels are so overused to the point where that is all the person sees as their identity and how it seems that the professional only sees us all, less than a person and just a condition.
We need a system that focuses on the individual’s experience of their own mental health rather than labels and criterion. A system where the client’s input is an integral part of their own treatment. Where our voices are deemed vital for our care. Where both parties, clients and professionals work harmoniously, focusing on the here and now, and not on the client’s background. Where both are equal. More than labels, more than diagnoses, we are human and we deserve to be heard. We matter, we have a voice and we can comprehend.