Stigma! This concept can pose an issue across the world. To see a psychiatrist or a therapist can be difficult to accept; whilst this is progressively becoming less of an issue, it can prevent people from accessing the right help.

We are all the product of our “inner voices’. It means the influence that people have had on us from birth until now, the influence of what we have learned at school or university, our own experiences, and so forth. Our “inner voices” can be helpful in many aspects, but in many cases, can also be a hindrance when it comes to seek help.

To overcome the stigma attached to mental health (sometimes also to physical health), we need to think about it without any judgement, trying to approach it with a critical scientific view and understanding that this is like any other problem in life. This is easier said than done, and an important part of it could be the fact that when we need mental health help, our thinking can be clouded by irrational feelings of guilty, feeling responsible for a situation which can be out of our hands. But we need to realise that we need to control the stigma, rather than the stigma controlling us.

If anything, addressing our problems in the right way, will help us feel that we are gaining control of our lives and, if we feel in control, the stigma will feel less powerful.

In addition, whatever happens during the consultation is confidential and remains between the psychiatrist/therapist and the individual seeking help. The self-reflecting process mentioned in the previous issue, allows us to establish priorities and decide what is most important for us from an inner perspective.

Paradoxically, we might fear that “control” is going to be taken away from us, but is this true?

To reduce the risks of this happening, a good search into the training, qualifications and quality of our psychiatrist/therapist to be, is fundamental.