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Oct 18, 2016 · Health-related myths are often repeated as fact, even though any diligent Google search will reveal the truth behind these fallacies. Here are 26 of the most common medical myths, debunked.
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Aug 3, 2016 · Science puts an end to these myths, misconceptions, and inaccuracies about human health and nutrition.
- Dave Mosher
Nov 15, 2021 · Explore 18 well-known medical myths that have been debunked as either true, false or partially true. When you hear a medical myth, be sure to use common sense, be skeptical and always back up your information with reliable sources.
- No need to count cups. Research shows people who gulp a glass of H2O when they’re thirsty get enough to stay healthy and hydrated. Water-rich foods like soup, fruit, and vegetables and drinks like juice, tea, and coffee all help you get your fill.
- Omelet lovers, rejoice. Eating an egg or two a day doesn’t raise the risk of heart disease in healthy people. Yes, the yolks have cholesterol, but for most of us, the amount found in any one food isn’t as bad for you as the mix of fats from everything you eat.
- Don’t sweat it! Some scientists think the chemicals found in antiperspirants and deodorants can be absorbed through your underarm. The idea is they end up in breast tissue and make tumors more likely.
- No matter what your grandma might've told you, spending too much time in the cold air doesn’t make you sick. One study found that healthy men who spent several hours in temperatures just above freezing had an increase in healthy, virus-fighting activity in their immune systems.
- Overview
- 1. Mental health problems are uncommon
- 2. Panic attacks can be fatal
- 3. People with mental health conditions cannot work
- 4. Mental health problems are a sign of weakness
- 5. Only people without friends need therapists
- 6. Mental health problems are permanent
- 7. Addiction is a lack of willpower
- 8. People with schizophrenia have a split personality
- 9. Eating disorders only affect females
Over recent years, mental health has slowly moved out of the shadows. After centuries of being sidelined, our state of mental well-being is gradually receiving more of the attention that it deserves. However, many myths persist. Here, we address 11 common misconceptions.
In our Medical Myths series, we approach medical misinformation head on. Using expert insight and peer reviewed research to wrestle fact from fiction, MNT brings clarity to the myth riddled world of health journalism.
As we approach World Mental Health Day on October 10, this edition of Medical Myths will focus on mental health.
Although the topic receives increasing attention and research, there are still many myths and misconceptions associated with mental health.
Sadly, there is still a significant stigma attached to mental health conditions, with much of this relying on old-fashioned thinking and outdated assumptions. As with many things in life, the more information we are armed with, the less likely we are to allow myths to color our opinions.
In the not-so-distant past, society shunned people with mental health conditions. Some people believed that evil spirits or divine retribution were responsible for mental illness. Although this way of thinking has been extricated from society in much of the world, it still casts a long shadow.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement above was false. Today, the statement is further from the truth than it has, perhaps, ever been.
In 2001, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that “1 in 4 people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives.”
Currently, 450 million people are experiencing such conditions. As the WHO explain, mental disorders are “among the leading causes of ill health and disability worldwide.”
One of the most common mental health disorders is depression, affecting more than 264 million people globally in 2017. A more recent study, which concentrates on the United States, concludes that the number of adults experiencing depression has tripled during the pandemic.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), another common mental disorder, affects an estimated 6.8 million adults in the U.S., equating to more than 3 in every 100 people.
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Panic attacks are incredibly unpleasant, involving a racing heartbeat and an overriding sense of fear. However, they cannot directly be fatal.
It is worth noting, though, that someone who is having a panic attack might be more liable to have an accident. If someone is experiencing a panic attack or can feel one coming on, finding a safe space can help mitigate this risk.
An old but persistent myth is that people with mental health issues cannot hold down a job or be useful members of the workforce. This is entirely false.
It is true that someone living with a particularly severe mental health condition might be unable to carry out regular work. However, the majority of people with mental health issues can be as productive as individuals without mental health disorders.
A U.S. study published in 2014 investigated employment status according to mental illness severity. The authors found that, as expected, “Employment rates decreased with increasing mental illness severity.”
However, 54.5% of individuals with severe conditions were employed, compared with 75.9% of people without a mental illness, 68.8% of people with mild mental illness, and 62.7% of people with moderate mental illness.
When the researchers looked at the effect of age, they found that the employment gap between people with a mental health condition and those without widened with advancing age. In people aged 18–25 years, the difference in employment rates between those with and without a serious mental illness was just 1%, but in the 50–64 bracket, the gap was 21%.
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This is no more true than saying that a broken leg is a sign of weakness. Mental health disorders are illnesses, not signs of poor character. Similarly, people with, for instance, depression, cannot “snap out of it” any more than someone with diabetes or psoriasis can immediately recover from their condition.
If anything, the opposite is true: Fighting a mental health condition takes a great deal of strength.
There is a large difference between structured talking therapies and speaking with friends. Both can help people with mental illness in different ways, but a trained therapist can address issues constructively and in ways that even the best of friends cannot match.
Also, not everyone can open up entirely in front of their nearest and dearest. Therapy is confidential, objective, and entirely focused on the individual, which is not generally possible in more informal chats with untrained friends.
A mental health diagnosis is not necessarily a “life sentence.” Each individual’s experience with mental illness is different. Some people might experience episodes, between which they return to their version of “normal.” Others may find treatments — medication or talking therapies — that restore balance to their lives.
Some people may not feel as though they have fully recovered from a mental illness, and some may experience progressively worse symptoms.
However, the take-home message is that many people will recover to a greater or lesser degree.
It is also important to consider that “recovery” means different things to different people. Some might view recovery as a return to exactly how they felt before symptoms began. For others, recovery might be relief from symptoms and a return to a satisfying life, however different it may be.
Mental Health America, a community-based nonprofit, explain:
“Recovering from mental illness includes not only getting better but achieving a full and satisfying life. Many people affirm that their journey to recovery has not been a straight, steady road. Rather, there are ups and downs, new discoveries, and setbacks.” They continue:
This statement is not true. Experts consider drug use disorders to be chronic diseases.
A paper in Addictive Behaviors Reports outlines a qualitative longitudinal study investigating the relationship between willpower and recovery from addiction. The researchers found that a lack of willpower was not the deciding factor when it came to beating addiction. They write:
This is a myth. Schizophrenia means “splitting of the mind,” which might explain the misconception. However, when Eugen Bleuler coined the term in 1908, he was trying to “capture the fragmentation and disintegration of the mind and behavior as the essence of the disorder.”
According to the WHO, schizophrenia “is characterized by distortions in thinking, perception, emotions, language, sense of self, and behavior.” These distortions can include hallucinations and delusions.
There is a stereotype that eating disorders are the domain of young, white, wealthy females. However, they can affect anyone.
For instance, a study that investigated the demographics of eating disorders over a 10-year period found that they are shifting. The most significant increases in prevalence occurred among males, individuals from lower income homes, and people aged 45 years or older.
Jul 1, 2019 · Researchers identified nearly 400 common medical practices and theories that were contradicted by rigorous studies. Here are some of the most notable findings.
May 2, 2018 · Throughout the centuries, many health myths have arisen. Some are tried, tested, and taken as fact, but others are nothing more than fantasy. In this article, we debunk some of the latter. Do we...
