Biases Surrounding Mental Health

   Biases are known to be ingrained in the human nature. Ironically, the bias starts reflecting in our approach to an individual's health, even if the sufferer is a loved one, as we give priority to physical health over mental health. Many of the biases regarding mental health are inbuilt or are passed on from one generation to another.

Social media has a considerable role in propagating such biases. Without proper evidence, many crimes of violent nature, such as shootings, murders, etc., are often ascribed to mental disorders. As indicated by Jonathan M. Metzl, M.D., Ph.D., and Kenneth T. MacLeish, Ph.D., in a 2015 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, most of the mass shootings in America are attributed to mental illnesses, and are often considered the root cause of violence.

The stereotype that "all persons with mental illness are violent" add fuel to the prevailing negative mindset against mental disorders. Another deep-rooted stigma regarding mental ailments is that people with some kind of mental deformity are incapable of independent living or doing competitive work. The fact that most physicians suffering from mental disorders such as depression or anxiety do not seek help, fearing that it would hinder their professional life, points at the deep-seated bias related to mental disorders.

Whether it is schizophrenia, bipolar or depression, a common perception about these mental disorders is that they are a character flaw. Depression, for example, is seen as sign of a weak-willed spirit. Also, in many instances, it is believed that mental disorders can be set right with attitudinal changes. For example, many believe that children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) need to be more disciplined and spanking is the best way to ensure that they behaved appropriately. Unfortunately, this tendency results in many with mental illnesses to be punished or discriminated against for no fault of theirs.

Implicit and explicit bias

Bias can broadly be divided into two types - implicit and explicit. It is a case of explicit bias when the individual is aware that he or she is biased against a particular person or group and uses it against a perceived threat. For example, painting all immigrants and refugees as potential sociopaths and antisocial elements is a form of explicit bias. According to Alexandra Werntz, University of Virginia and PIMH researcher, people are familiar with explicit biases, and "they are influenced by a lot of different factors, like willingness to disclose and social desirability."

Implicit bias is, however, more difficult to understand because an individual is unaware of its existence. It is beyond the boundaries of one's consciousness or awareness, but more likely to impact the way one behaves with regard to those with mental health disorders https://mentalhealthwellnessnow.com/ . For example, people showing implicit bias tend to believe that people with mental illness are helpless and negative, and should be blamed for their wrongdoings.

Determining the impact of bias on mental health outcomes

While bias is a common occurrence with regard to mental health, discriminatory behavior because of inbuilt prejudices could have a negative impact on the diagnoses and treatment. Past studies have indicated that many mental health professionals continue to endorse negative biases about mental illness.

Apart from the lack of empathy, a constant stigma surrounding mental disorders can result in increased anger and an unwillingness to help the patient in need. It was observed that the attitude of the health care professionals toward mentally ill patients reflected "paternalistic approaches." While there was an element of empathy involved, in most instances it was believed that patients with mental disorders were incompetent.

Mental disorders are treatable

Whether it is a depression or an anxiety disorder or a neurodegenerative disorder, mental disorders are certainly not a character flaw. Recovery seems difficult as long as one keeps postponing the need to seek treatment. Understanding the importance of having a sound mental health can give rise to a new perspective on life that would further enhance the quality of overall health.

Affirmations of Willingness are not like other self-talk affirmations. They are unique and they can greatly aid in improving mental health and behavior.

These affirmations are not designed to help you get what you selfishly want. Nor, are they illusionary statements that have nothing to do with a current reality. Nothing good can result from a person walking around repeating phrases that are not true.

Affirmations of Willingness are designed to help a person become less selfish, less controlling, and more in reality about self and others. They will be of no value to anyone who does not want to change in loving ways.

They will help to strengthen a person's positive resolve for right action at the subconscious level of his or her will.

They are worded in such a way as to bypass the mind and mental concepts and belief systems.

Affirmations of Willingness help to disconnect from the subconscious storehouse of selfish, controlled ideas, opinions, beliefs, values, principles, and judgments from which we have been basing our selfishly controlling choices and selfish way of life.

Our most important wrong choices originate from our personal subconscious; the subconscious is our "selfish command center."

When a person repeats an Affirmation of Willingness, he or she is consciously sending a message into his or her subconscious command center. If the energy inherent in the statement is sincere, it means that the person is considering changing how he or she has been previously choosing and behaving.

In effect, the person is deciding to "de-program" self for love and right action by de-energizing or negating his or her personal selfish subconscious programming.

If repeated regularly with sincerity, Affirmations of Willingness will help to reinforce a person's commitment and ability to consciously remain on a right track, or to return to a course of loving change after having made choices to stray.

Caution, if repeated with sincerity these affirmations will likely bring up to conscious awareness strong, previously suppressed, negative thoughts, feelings, or childhood memories. It is important not to enact such feelings or react to negative memories.

Stay with the particular affirmation and keep repeating it while attempting to see to whom and to what the negative thoughts, feelings, or memories relate.

The repetition of Affirmations of Willingness can help you to access vitally important personal facts and lead to empowering insights about yourself.

If you find yourself avoiding certain affirmations, it is a good bet that you are willfully resisting giving up control in that area. Falling asleep while repeating an affirmation, becoming irritated, or being "too busy" for them are common clues to reaction.

Try saying these thirteen basic affirmations. Make time to repeat them whenever possible. If said without sincerity, at best, they will be a breathing exercise or waste of your time.

The Basic Affirmations of Willingness

1. "I am now willing to be totally willing."

The essential state of selfish person is "willfulness." Therefore, a basic core-level shift from willfulness to "willingness" is necessary if loving changes are to occur. Being willing to be totally willing may seem strangely redundant, but it is intended to reinforce our intention and position ourselves to be psychologically able to accurately perceive true rightness.

2. "I am now willing to be totally willing to love perfectly."

We all have numerous ideas about what love and loving action is. Those ideas keep a person from expressing and experiencing true love. The word "perfectly" prevents one from mentally visualizing what love means. It deters from forming or acting on personal ideas about love and loving behavior, and opens one to perceiving the reality of love.

3. "I am now willing to be totally willing to totally accept everything."

"Total acceptance" is a psychological position crucial to being able to see truth and reality. Total acceptance relates to seeing "wholeness" and "actuality."

When a person is unwilling to "totally accept everything" about what he or she is perceiving, that person is probably not accurately seeing actual truth or reality. The same phenomenon applies to attempts to see the truth about ourselves, another person, a situation, relationship, or the truth of what is right in a given moment.

4. "I am now willing to be totally willing to take full responsibility for my choices."

Every selfish person, to one degree or another, is refusing to be responsible for personal wrong choices and resulting negative feelings, situations, relationships, and circumstances. That is why blame is so prevalent. A willingness to take full responsibility for our choices is necessary for the accurate seeing of truth, reality, and rightness. A willingness to take full responsibility opens a person to seeing significant aspects of his or her personal subconscious.

The more responsible a person chooses to be, the more consciously aware he or she will become. Heightened conscious awareness helps a person to make choices rooted in reality and rightness. Those choices benefit everyone.

5. "I am now willing to be totally willing to see actual truth."

A willingness to see actual truth is vital if we are to see what right action is, and for us to be able to express true love to others. When we selfishly control, we deny, run from, and distort the truth. We make choices based on controlled lies, rationalizations, and illusions.

If we are to change in truly loving ways, we must maintain a sincere willingness to see negative truths about ourselves and our past choices, then change what is negative, unloving, dishonest, wrong, and irresponsible about self.

6. "I am now willing to be totally willing to give up all of my ideas."

Every selfish person literally chooses to live from selfishly controlled ideas. Each of us has amassed a "subconscious storehouse of ideas" that we use to subconsciously direct and orchestrate selfish behavior. We use selfish ideas to trigger and regulate selfish reactions, maintain unloving attitudes, and generate and negative feelings. These controlled selfish ideas to help us get what we want and avoid what we do not want. They include our opinions, beliefs, values, principles, and judgments. The problem is they inhibit our ability to see truth and reality, see right action, and live responsibly in loving ways.

7. "I am now willing to be totally willing to be totally wrong."

Being willing to be wrong is necessary if a person is ever to be willing to make choices to change in loving ways.

This affirmation helps to counter certain ideas and beliefs that a person strongly refuses to give up and be wrong about.

Loving change necessitates that a person makes choices based solely on what he or she senses and knows is truly right.

After making what the person assumes is a right choice, he or she could have been selfishly deluding him or her self, therefore, it is important to remain open to seeing vital clues that will either confirm or deny the rightness of that choice.

Should inner or outer clues make it obvious that the choice was actually a selfish, not a loving or right, choice, the person must be willing to reverse course and keep searching to discover what the truly right choice is in the particular situation.

8. "I am now willing to be totally willing to not want anything for myself or anyone else."

Who can imagine what it might be like to live one day without wanting something?

Most of us believe that wanting is "natural." It can appear "necessary," "natural," even "appropriate," especially as regards food, water, sex, and bodily comfort.

It does seem that it is right to crave, feel a need, have a desire for, and want food when hungry, water when thirsty, warmth when cold, and sexual interaction. However, a person can physically crave life's essentials without flipping into "selfish wanting."

Wanting, from anyone, for anyone, or for any reason, is actually selfish and destructive. Choices to want introduce a negative and unnecessary negative spin to a person's day-to-day experience.

Wanting is not natural; it comes from a selfish intention and desire. It generates sensations of lack and need. It is a refusal to give and act rightly.

Wanting, needing, and getting are why a person becomes closed, guarded, insincere, and unreal.

9. "I am now willing to be totally willing to lose everything, to have nothing, to be no one, and be totally alone, if necessary."

Loving change is a process that a person must be prepared to do alone, if necessary.

This affirmation helps a person stay free of compromises and remain centered in what he or she knows is true, right, loving, and lovingly responsible. It helps us break free and remain free of negative agreements that become concession traps. It will help to deal with other people's reactions to our rights choices that go against the selfish way.

10. "I am now willing to be totally willing to end my selfishness and selfishly controlling efforts."

Ending personal selfishness is likely not realistic in a person's lifetime. However, to whatever extent a person stops being selfish will benefit him or her or anyone with whom he or she interacts.

Efforts to reduce personal selfishness will produce an ongoing personal positive transformation and enhance a person's inner experience in truly meaningful, positive, loving ways.

11. "I am now willing to be totally willing to stop honoring my subconscious parent-related negative agreements."

Every selfish person is honoring parent-related negative agreements that he or she entered into before birth. They were made with the parent of similar basic selfish disposition as the person (angry or fearful).

That parent became the child's "favored-parent," the parent he or she chose to be subconsciously loyal to, take sides with, and behave as that parent wanted the child to behave. In effect, each of us has made our favored-parent our "personal god."

No core-level positive changes are possible as long as a person honors his or her negative agreements.

12. "I am now willing to be totally willing to stop selfishly reacting to the wrong choices of others."

Not selfishly reacting is, far and away, everyone's biggest human challenge. Selfish reactions are never outside of our control, no matter how "uncontrollable" they may seem, so not reacting is always possible with enough willingness.

Hopefully,these affirmations will help you to unhook from selfish, subconscious, destructive, and self