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Elections and mental health: Words matter
Here’s the truth that should be repeated more often: People can be nasty, callous, incompetent, manipulative, violent, or opportunistic without having any mental disorder.
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Two men wear masks of presidential candidates Joko Widodo (left) and Prabowo Subianto as residents in Joho, Surakarta, Central Java, hold an event to foster harmony in the wake of this year's elections in this file photo.
(Antara/Maulana Surya )
T
he election results have been announced, and the political constellation has once again shifted. Some achieved their goals, yet others must accept that victory remains elusive. Nevertheless, some of the language used to talk about the election can reinforce the stigma about mental health issues.
This election has involved extreme polarization between the two competing camps. Different opinions are expected in any election, but these days, substantive debate has lost ground to increasingly toxic personal attacks.
Candidates and supporters expressing different views are framed as having something wrong in their heads. Smear campaigns questioning candidates’ mental health were used to disuade voters.
Also, let us not forget the vitriol people showed after the court affirmed that people with mental disorders retained their right to vote, which was falsely claimed as a way to swing election results for a certain presidential hopeful.
The tired trope of the failed candidate — caleg gagal — has reared its ugly head again. Candidates who failed to secure seats and recoup their campaign costs are said to be extremely distressed. The profound disappointment will push them over the edge and into the crowded wards of mental hospitals. The trope paints mental illness as some kind of divine punishment for ungrateful, reckless, or just generally bad people. Consequently, receiving care for mental health problems is seen as shameful.
Nevertheless, these views reveal less about its subject, and more about those who share it. It is an inescapable reminder that mental health issues are still perceived in a negative light.
In this case, stigma does not manifest in insult or assault, but has seeped into everyday words and actions. Condescension and unfair judgment against people facing mental health challenges has become so normalized that most do not protest when they get passed around as punchlines.
