Three stereotypes that will amaze you
If you have ever gone: oh! this boy or girl is fine so, he or she is definitely in a relationship, or spontaneously judged people based on their culture, race, gender, and so on, you have successfully stereotyped that group or individual. There are a million and one stereotypes in the world. Some of the most popular ones include: blacks are impoverished, Jews are greedy, blondes are not smart, Muslims are terrorists, people who wear glasses are naturally intelligent, depression comes with a sad face, Yorubas enjoy parties, Igbos enjoy money, and so on.
Others have yet to be corrected, while some have been refuted and changed but are still not accepted by everybody (especially race and religion). Stereotypes are over-emphasized beliefs about a race or group of people, things, animals, and even concepts. It is unfair to generalize an ideology to an entire group. I can go on and on about what it is not and how it offends the actual group of people but, I will save that for the next time and share with you these three heart shocking stereotypes.
1. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
What comes to your mind when you hear OCD? a disorder that has to do with being too clean or rearranging things? It is not always the case. The first time I heard about OCD was from the show: one thousand ways to die. This disordered man, who was also germophobic, cleansed everything and everywhere far too much, particularly his nose, and eventually died using it. He kept the wrong water to clear his nasal passage in his Neti pot. Then other shows like Monk and Happy Tree Friends that I know have supported this claim. The fact is that some people who live with this illness could be unclean (those who hoard are likely to be messy).
What then is OCD? Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours (reoccurring behaviours) that causes anxiety. It could be anything- your thinking, objects, fear, and may even be you trying to open a car door after pressing the lock button 😊. I know you are just checking. If you notice Mr. Krabs in the popular SpongeBob SquarePants, you would agree that he represents the illness- he has an obsession with money and gets distressed when anything affects it. To summarize, compulsive cleaning is a symptom of OCD that is most believed to be the only one.
2. INTROVERTS ARE SADISTS AND ALWAYS SHY
I am an introvert and with all due respect, stop it. Too many times after meeting with people, I get questions such as: are you a sadist? Do you have friends? When will you get a life? Should you not go out more? And other uncalled-for remarks. First off and I believe I speak for all; we are not sad or hopeless. Because we enjoy our own company does not make us one. You have the energy for socializing, and we do not, and it is okay. Not that we don’t attempt. Being a sadist is caused by other factors that have nothing to do with this. Introversion and shyness? I have heard that a lot. Well, it not true. Many extroverts are shy too. Besides, I think we introverts are awesome people :)
3. PEOPLE LIVING WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES ARE ALWAYS VIOLENT
There is this movie I saw not too long ago depicting this same issue. In the scene was an officer interrogating a patient living with mental illness about the assault of another patient. Persistently, the patient interrogated kept telling the officer not to stand behind him. He did not feel comfortable. I suspected post-traumatic stress disorder. It might have been another illness, or he did not like it as any other sane human did not. This officer ignored him by moving closer, and there was an outburst from the patient. The first and perhaps only message one will get is that people living with mental illness are naturally hot-headed, whereas other people, just like sane people, are the ones who cause it. Overly aggression is indeed associated with mental disorders like some personality disorders. But it is somewhat exaggerated. It simply means hey, we all are very dangerous. Avoid us at all costs. It only promotes the stigma of these patients.
However, mental illnesses, if left untreated, can be deadly to both the patient and others around them. For instance, the back story of the character- the ‘Joker’ is solid evidence. Besides, research has shown that when a mentally unstable person abuses alcohol and illicit drugs are, they more likely to be aggressive than a non-mentally ill person. In fact, by some measure backed up by research, most violent crimes are committed by individuals who are not mentally ill, and only 3% of people living with mental illness are violent. In general, these patients are vulnerable and easy targets of violence.
In the comments area below, tell me about some more clichés that you find hilarious.
