the stigma of mental illlness?

Question

Society's perceptions of mental illness are generally speaking pretty negative. The behaviour, thoughts and emotions of people with a mental illness are unpredicatable confusing and sometimes make people uncomfortable. For a very long time people have been trying to remove some of this stigma and it's a difficult job to conunteract social perceptions and fears. For those of us that have experienced mental illness, either personally or by watching a loved one suffer we know that a person with a mental illness can still be an intelligent, compassionate and beautiful person. Most of the time they are just 'normal' people that have a mental disorder blocking them. Some people in society still can't get that. My discussion is about the media. it seems to me that every time mental illness gets a mention in the media it is very rarely about promoting tolerance and understanding, but a negative image - pschopath comits some terrible crime that kind of thing. Isn't the media simply fuelling

social fears and contributing to the stigma. Will mental illness ever be an accepted fact and not constantly responded to out of fear, ignorance and discrimation?

Answer 1

It's an excellent topic! I get very pissed at the fact, when something happens, a crime for example, that the media focuses their attention on whether they had a mental illness. I've been thinking about this for a while, I think it might have something to do with the fact the society needs some kind of "answer" to how this could this crime have happened. They've got a mental illness, thats why that shot that person, or stabbed someone. We seem to need an explaination thats wrapped up neatly in a little box.

There was guy that lived locally near me, he got caught speeding, turned into a high speed chase, pulled up at his parents house, ran inside, and when the cops chased after him inside, he pulled a knife from the kitchen on an officer, stabbed him, and was promptly shot by the copper and died a few hours later. Terrible tradegy, and I don't think he deserved to die, but all the newspapers couldn't stop going on about the fact that he MAY have had BIPOLAR!

I have bipolar, and I hate being grouped into the same category as these idiots. Some people, not the guy I just mentioned, but some, I think, are just plain EVIL and that is it! Why do we need all these labels?

I can only hope that as mental illnesses are more accepted as time goes on, and this kind of frustrating need to "label" all the crazies! I admit that in the time I've had bipolar, which is about 10 yrs, there has been quite an improvement in the education and awareness of mental illnesses, but no where near enough yet.

You've got me all worked up now... *giggle*

Fingers (and toes) crossed for more people to be educated that most of us "loons" are like you said: intelligent, compassionate and beautiful people. Alice.

Answer 2

The hardest step in recovery is for the patient to see the illness is what they have but the health part is what they have not learned to do socially. In fact if they were able to interface socially there would have been no depression. The psychosis is a later stage and is unpredictable because the lower brain is involved. It is where all the fears come from.

Answer 3

Don't deny that sometimes people with mental illness are a threat to others. Are news stories about murder fueling stigma over mental illness? Not exactly, but it's not making it any better.

You see, the whole point of education about mental illness is not to pretend that all mentally ill people are safe, intelligent and beautiful people, that's simply not true, but to put events like the Virginia Tech shooting into context.

Answer 4

It's a very complex question; what we're doing here is walking on very treacherous grounds...I believe many people experience psychical troubles, most of them never visit psychiatrist because of the built in fear, they should become marked with psychical illness...Than; how can you tell someone is in mental disorder, when many times there are no visible symptoms until too late...I rather think, we're a sick society and mentally ill are in no worse position than we are...

Answer 5

I agree with you completely. I think for every negitive story that the media has about mental illness they should have one positive story. And the movies that depict mental illness in a false negitive way should be banned or have a R rating so that our young impressionable audiences won't have access to them.

Answer 6

Fear(hath torment) is learned, and can be unlearned.
The root source of fear and mental illness is the law.

All the lying, crying, dying begins with lying(lawing).
To be rid of crying and dying, simply stop the lying.

Depression is Oppression. The source of it is the law.
JC went about healing all "oppressed of the d-evil(law)".

Our Father, deliver us from "evil": Mt 6:13
We are delivered from the "law": Rom 7:6
Ye are not under the law, but under grace.
There's no depression(oppression) under grace.

The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen.

Answer 7

I aggree with your opinion that the media contributes to society's perception of mental illness.
However, prior to the media, society had already developed the view that people with mental illnesses were evil, witches, abnormal, and in need of isolation from others in institutions.
Up until the invention of the TV and computers, people who behaved in a deviant or strange manner were outcasts, isolated from friends, family, and left to suffer on their own in streets or if arrrested sent to psychiatric institutions where they were sexually abused, tormented, drugged, and left to starve and fend fior themselves for many years. Some were fortunate enough to escape, but not as many who weren't.
The 1970's saw the introduction of drugs into society. Many people who had mental illnesses used them as a means of social acceptance and controlling the disease of the mind.
Such behaviour seemed to impact on the amount of people institutionalised, also affected by the lack of availabile beds within institutions. Fortunately the 1970's helped many peolpe with mental illnesses to drift through society with less prejudice due to drug use, many of whom are suspected of continuing to use drugs for treatment of mental illness today.
By the mid eighties, increases in random acts of violence, murders, and increases in the homeless population saw the abnormal behaviour associated with mental illness become more tolerable as society was comfronted with a flood of images from the media, movies, and video games potraying outbrsts of rage commonly seen among some of the mentally ill. In addition to this pseudo-destigmatation from the media, the government was faced with an increasing population of suicidal, homocidal, depressed, psychotic, and highly "stressed-out" people who were so debilitated by their illnesses they were unable to work. Research around this time also proved the physical characteristics of mental illnesses were also part of the mental illness make up and along with new theories, new treatments developed. Such a change in focus had not occured since S. Freud's discoveries of 1923.
The introduction of use of anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, and sedatives in the homes of people and not just in psychiatric institutions provided people with the ability to get on with their lives. However, like with all medications, abuse can conduct a whole new realm of problems.
First it was the benzodiazepines. In the late 50's and early 60's Marilyn Munroe used "downers" and ended up overdosing on them. This trend re-emerrged in the 1980's with new improved neuro-chemical cocktails with addictive properties such as Oxazepam {Seropax}.
In the late 80's and 1990's increases in divorce rates, job losses, and again violent unprovoked outbursts of violence and anger were subject to be caused by mental illness particularly depression. Gradually, violonce and its association with the mentally ill became popular viewing as networks sky rocketed on showing such footage which up until recently been behind closed institution doors. This also saw an increase of mentally ill jump up to 5% of the population. Consequently with this rise, pharmocology research developed Prozac the new drug to combat anxiet and depression. Media interest was quick to pick up on the violent outbursts of people taking the drug for depression.
Consequently, similar drugs have now developed called SSRI's and the media portrays depression, PND, PMT, and anxiety disorders in a humerous rather than negative portrayal. However, psychosis and schizophrenia is the most prevelant and most debilitating of all mental illnesses as treatment primarily focuses on minimising the hallucinations which in turn leads to depression and/or heavy sedation. Such quality of life is not appealing to those afflicted with this stigmatised and fearful mental illness. So, people with schizophrenia, pschotic, psycho, madman, labels continue to get the most response in viewing in the media due to the illnesses unpredictability and unique characteristics, as well as its unresponsiveness to modern pharmocology. This form of harassment should be stopped as it did with depression and greater awareness of schizophrenias true identity be found. Recently there are the new personality disorders but I could be here all night .......zzzzzzzzzzzz!