Misconceptions About Mental Illness with Dr. Vinay Saranga

By now, most people know just how real and even disabling a mental health condition can be. Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of misguided and incorrect information out there. What are the real facts about some of the most common mental illnesses?

A few of the most common misconceptions about mental health according to today's special guest Dr. Vinay Saranga:

• You can ‘just get over it
• Anxiety is just feeling nervous
• Mental illness isn’t real
• Depression is just feeling sad
• Mental illness only occurs in weak people
• Stress is not a big deal
• He must have ADHD
• I’m so OCD
• Antidepressants and antianxiety meds are handed out like candy

These days, it’s tough to be an adult and unable to control your impulses, or to remember where you put your keys, or to even know whether what you just saw was real or a hallucination. Is it schizophrenia? Alzheimer’s? ADHD? Certainly, it’s not easy to wonder why you lose your temper without a real reason. As well as, to drink more and more and think you can stop when you want but then secretly wonder if you ever really will…? Bipolar Disorder? Alcoholism? Addiction?

Vinay Saranga M.D., is a psychiatrist and founder of Saranga Comprehensive Psychiatry. He says about 450 million people worldwide suffer from a mental health condition like anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder. Even if you’re not one of these people, chances are you have a friend, family member, coworker or someone else in your life who would benefit from you knowing the facts.