This page is a resource for alleviating the misunderstandings and prejudice surrounding emotional distress and mental illness. Included are numerous facts from psychology that contradict the common beliefs.
Emotional pain carries a lot of stigma.
For example,some people consider crying a sign of weakness or neurosis, when it is often a natural response to stress. People in unusual circumstances respond with unusual distress, but the external causes are often disregarded and the distress considered the sign of a psychological disorder. Emotional pain is not a disease or a mental disorder, but a natural response to environmental conditions. Its purpose is to motivate survival behavior, which is in fact highly functional. However, even when a person is diagnosed with a disorder, their diagnosis carries with it implications of personal fault or weak will.