The Stigma Of Mental Illness,What You Can Do To Stop It
69Stigma And Mental Illness
There are legions of people who have been touched by stigma some time in their lives. Stigma kills. It is unhealthy for the person who is coping with it. It is a negative label to identify someone with. People with mental illness suffer from a measurable amount of stigma. It is believed if you have a mental illness you may be violent, a killer, or even a sex offender. This is not always true.
It doesn't necessarily mean because you have a mental illness you are any of those things. People without a mental illness commit crimes that are horrendous and claim no mental illness. So the myth is not true that all mentally ill people are criminals.The media is responsible for many of the ideations that persist about people with mental illnesses.
This very stigma discourages families from getting the help they so desperately need. For the fear of being persecuted, discriminated,and stereotyped against. Stigma is about disrespect. Comedians often make fun of people with mental illnesses, using their disability as joke.
Approximately 23 percent of the US population suffer from a mental illness and half of those never get the help they need because of the stigma of mental illness. Today, most people can lead productive lives within their communities thanks to a variety of support, programs,family and/or medications.
We need to start using a more respectful language,stop using terms like fruitcake, nut case, freak, crazy and lunatic. Mental Illness can strike anyone at any given time. We need to build awareness and compassion for those that suffer from a mental illness and not label them. Many people have wrong and damaging ideas. Getting precise facts and information may help change their ideas and actions.
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Comments
Well as my user name says, crazy. I think using humor and having a sense of humor to battle a mental illness is something everyone should absolutely have. Unfortunately not everyone has that. I try but my humor meter probably isn't that high. I think it is great that you can deal with your EAD and bipolar without meds. I bet it gets tough sometimes for you. I know what you mean about meds. I commend you not taking them. And taking a stand against them and living your life as best you can without a cloud hanging over your head.
intrstng!
I believe that only 1% of violent crimes are related to any diagnosable mental health condition. The media always puts a mental health spin on crime, at the expense of informed journalism. Often they don't even properly source their information (....so and so has mental illness says an anonymous neigbour.....). Another problem is that diagnoses are too broad and I think made to often, just in order to help people who are going through a bad time. My position is that good mental health is not just an individual problem, its a social responsibility. There are some interesting web sites and resource links for more info. Try googling -The Force BC- (an advocacy group site with great links) and google -Just Therapy- (an Australian site). Anyway, good hubsite.
M
Thank you for your comment. I also think that many are given a diagnosis more freely than not. It is easier to throw a prescription and hope for the best than perhaps seeking out therapy and possibly a short term med regimen.
Mental health should be a social problem. But unfortunately it isn't. It is a society that frowns upon those that have a mental illness. The "crazy" card has been played so many times, that when someone with a real illness shows up in the courts, so what? The question they ask is "why should we get off just because were crazy" I have heard it to many times.
Society needs to be educated. They need to be willing to learn that mental illness is not something one chooses when times are tough. But something that strikes at any given time. That you just don't turn "crazy". They need to know that those words sting, and are hurtful. But in my experience I don't see much improvement of that happening. I do what I can to empower myself, to teach my community that people with mental illness's are not monsters waiting in the wings to hurt you or your children.
Thanks for the recommended sites, I'll check them out.
http://hubpages.com/hub/psychosis
I'd like your opinion, its a Canadian piece though, just added info about research into stigma and some other university studies going on here. I hope to link my mental health articles to a local program site. Stay tuned! ( :
Hi-
you write on a topic close to my heart, I feel really strongly about how people with mental illness are treated differently - from HMO's to workplaces & schools and how their concerns are often downplayed or frankly ignored. It is very courageous to write about such personal topics, hope to hear more from you.
Thank you dr c for your comments. I have been on a vacation of sorts from writing. Yes it is a bipolar thing. I so appreciate it when folks like yourself recognize the things we are trying to make better through awareness and knowledge. That there doesn't have to be that negative dot of darkness on mental illness if we can spread the experiences of how we maintain in the world. Thank you :-)
Agro Donkey says:
2 years ago
I am crazy, nuts, and even bonkers. I am mentaly ill. I have been diagnosed with many diffrent things. I suffer from EAD (Explosive Anger Disorder) and I am bipolar. The best way that I have found to get people to know that I'm not any diffrent than anyone else is to make a joke out of it. I tell them that my EAD makes me turn everything I am feeling into rage and that bipolar makes my moods go haywire. I deal with the it the best that I can without medication because it makes me feel like zombie. Like I am not living life but just going through the motions. I get some laughs and they get that I am who I am. I can't help the way that I deel with stuff so they need to except it. Humor is the best educater. You just need to quit taking yourself so seriously. I was told that you can't take life to seriously or that you'll never make it our alive. I can't say so much as that it is true but it makes a lot more sense than being offended all the time.