When you visit Denmark, the first thought that crosses your mind is about Danish being one of the happiest nations in the world. Danish Health Authority Special Adviser Anja Kare Vedelsby claims: ‘The number of non-psychotic spectrum diseases such as depression, anxiety and ADHD diagnoses increasing’.
Danish Health Authority. By Goda Ponomariovaitė
Daniel Nielsen, a student, suffering from anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression feels that there is a stigma about people having mental disorders. ‘If you act strange in the public because of your mental illnesses, people can comment on it. I feel that people can think less of you,’ he stays. When Daniel was a child, he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder for the whole of his life. He mentions that a combination of mental and neurological disorders causes a lot of incapabilities to adapt in Danish society. ‘I think that Danish people are private, and they will not talk with you about mental health unless they know you very well,’ he points out.
Photographer Annabelle Brusseau who was diagnosed with anxiety, thinks completely otherwise. ‘I wouldn’t say that there is a stigma here since people have opened up about their mental issues as well, but it has not been taken seriously enough at work,’ she claims. Annabelle talks a lot about her mental diseases – it’s not taboo for her.
By 2021 people who are between 18-24 and suffer from anxiety or depression can receive free psychotherapy. However, patients stand in the waiting list for a few months.
This story is written for the audience who deal with stigma of mental issues and could be published in cphpost.dk