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Mental health stigma introduction
Effect of stigma on mental health patients
Mental health stigma introduction
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To Hide or not to Hide? At least one in four people will experience a mental health problem every year, including teenagers and young adults; however, ninety per cent of people who have a mental illness will not speak about it. Why? Because we don’t. For a very long time, mental health was a disease people would not dare speak about. The stigma associated with mental health meant that it was viewed as a curse or simply poor upbringing. Crazy, right? (Pardon the pun). Although it’s not seen as a curse by us in this generation any more, many people with mental health issues still have to face ignorance, prejudice and discrimination from our society just because of their lack of understanding or reluctance to try and understand. Be that as it may, these attitudes directly impact upon how and if people choose to seek help, making the negative and ignorant opinions and attitudes of others potentially dangerous to many individuals and the people around them. There’s a myriad of mental illnesses out there; in fact over 200 classified forms. The most common being anxiety, stress, depression, bipolar and schizophrenia, …show more content…
Those who push themselves to speak out and seek help end up feeling worse than before due to discrimination in the workplace, as the average per person cost of lost employment due to schizophrenia and related illnesses for those ages 45-64 is £19,078, while costs for those aged 15-44 were just under £30,000. Because of something out of their control, their entire lifestyle has to be sacrificed in order to try and get the help they need. This also influences other individuals in similar situations to keep quiet about their illness to prevent losing their job or becoming a victim to discrimination and bullying in the workplace. It is bad enough for adults to go through this but what about
The stigma and negative associations that go with mental illness have been around as long as mental illness itself has been recognized. As society has advanced, little changes have been made to the deep-rooted ideas that go along with psychological disorders. It is clearly seen throughout history that people with mental illness are discriminated against, cast out of society, and deemed “damaged”. They are unable to escape the stigma that goes along with their illness, and are often left to defend themselves in a world that is not accepting of differences in people. Society needs to realize what it is doing, and how it is affecting these people who are affected with mental illness. If we continue to not help them, and to foster their illness, it will only get worse.
Mental illness plagues one out of four American citizens. Mental illness varies greatly from person to person. The spectrum of mental illness includes many illnesses including, depression and anxiety as well as some more serious illnesses such as Down syndrome. All mental illness plays a role in how this person is going to function in society. These individuals have unique needs and individual strengths that need evaluated for proper care.
Many people believe that mental illness affects certain ages, religions, races, genders, or income levels more than others do but that is not the case ("NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | Mental Illnesses"). There are many forms of mental illnesses that affect people, such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder. These illnesses come from a variety of different factors and conclude in ...
Stereotypes and stigmas promote a dangerous, single-minded perspective. These incomplete or half-truths are often far more duplicitous than lies, as they are more difficult to detect. When these perspectives remain unchecked, they can result in far-reaching, adverse consequences. It is the individual’s duty to refuse to perpetuate this single story perspective. Due to misinformation presented by the media, the stigma surrounding mental illness has created a discriminatory single story perspective; however, through honest and open dialogue, particularly with those suffering from these diseases, these stereotypes can be abolished.
Mental health literacy, similar to health literacy, provides information about mental health disorders and how to aid their management, awareness, and prevention (Wei). There are two main stigmas seen in the mental health community: public stigma and self-stigma. Both of these stigmas are detrimental to the strides being made in the mental health community. Within ethnic minority communities and the mental health community, stigmatisms and misconceptions associated with mental illness negatively impact people who suffer from such issues. In order to prevent unnecessary deaths and tragic suicide attempts, minority communities and the mental health community must work together to raise awareness and destigmatize mental illness.
There is a stigma surrounding seeking help for mental illness that needs to be broken. Mental illness is not to be taken lightly, it is a serious matter. These people need genuine help; help that they should be able to seek without having to worry about repercussions.
The only instances that cause a debate on mental health is when an individual does something that is criminal or hard to comprehend. The media get experts to look in on the catastrophe, and explain why they did it. Mental Illness is a worldwide problem and is often considered a "Hidden epidemic" as it stretches to institutions like jail, schools, family, and the media. Most mentally ill people are afraid to seek treatment mostly due to the stigma, prejudice, and discrimination that are attached to the label. The Label that comes with being mentally ill often leads to depression. Mental illness is largely misunderstood in the United States and can be treated; the following paragraphs reveal treatment, as well as causes and effects of stigmas on society, poverty, Insurance, the educational system, and the media.
Many people go about their lives not knowing that they have a mental illness. Some like anxiety and panic disorders are easily spotted some are not if they aren’t talked about you would never know that the person was diagnosed with anything. Some commonly known illnesses would be: ADD/ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), OCD (Obsessive compulsive disorder), PTS (Post Traumatic Stress disorder), autism, depression, and eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. The lesser known illnesses include: SAD (Seasonal Affective disorder), Schizophrenia, Bipolar and Personality disorders, anxiety and panic disorders. There is also an increase in dual diagnosis, in which the person is diagnosed with both a mental disorder and substance abuse (Alcohol and or prescription or non-prescription drugs). It is estimated that 26.2 percent of the American Populati...
The media may have started a battle against the taboo with stars admitting to problems, in most schools in America silence wrings through the halls about mental health. School should be the first place to start informing students that they could be at risk of a serious problem that could affect them the rest of their life. Research done by the University Mental Health Advisers Network showed that ‘half of all lifetime mental disorders start by the mid-teens and three quarters by the mid 20s” (Time). Avoiding mental health and not informing students of the possibility only puts them at a disadvantage for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, phrases that stigmatize mental health are commonly used, but no one realizes the effect they have on people suffering from problems. A survey of 546 teachers concluded that “88% of teachers and 96% of teaching assistants had heard pupils using phrases which stigmatise mental health in school”(Barber). Always hearing those phrases puts students suffering in a mindset that their pro...
Advocates for people with mental illnesses have urged the government
There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed. Most commonly, people are stated to be “depressed” rather than someone who “has depression”. It is a common perception that mental illnesses are not a priority when it comes to Government spending just as it is forgotten that most mental health disorders can be treated and lead a normal life if treatment is successful. The effect of this makes a sufferer feels embarrassed and feel dehumanized. A common perception is that they should be feared or looked down upon for something they have not caused. People experience stigma as a barrier that can affect nearly every aspect of life—limiting opportunities for employment, housing and education, causing the loss of family ...
Since it has become more understood better treatment plans have been created. There a various therapies and medications that can help manage mental health. However, there is an estimated 50 million people in America that has a mental disorder(s) and sadly only about 10 million will receive mental healthcare. Why is this? This happens simply because mental illness does not care who you are and how much money you do or do not have in the bank. Mental illnesses can effect anyone and it can be anyone of the numerous different psychological disorders. When mental illness effects a person it disrupts their whole life, this would include their daily living as well as effecting how preform at work. Take for instance, if they work a production job it can cause them not to make production. If they cannot function well enough to work at their required performance, then this could and probably would lead into them being fired from their job. Without a job they would not only lose their income but they would also have say bye-bye to their insurance plan as well. This would leave them without and mental healthcare. Did you know that if 50% of those with schizophrenia, 25% of those with anxiety disorders, 33% of those with depression are currently receiving successful treatment and the likely success rate will be around 80 to 90%? A number of people with
People with a mental illness are often feared and rejected by society. This occurs because of the stigma of mental illness. The stigma of mental illness causes the perception of individuals with mental illnesses to be viewed as being dangerous and insane. They are viewed and treated in a negative way. They are almost seen as being less of a human. The stigma affects the individual with a mental illness in such a cruel way. The individual cannot even seek help without the fear of being stigmatized by their loved ones or the general public. The stigma even leads to some individuals developing self-stigma. This means having a negative perception of one’s self, such as viewing one’s self as being dangerous. The worst part is that the effects of
Those are the some reason: “Frequent medical appointments, absences from work, medication side-effects, and difficulty communicating or interacting with others, trouble concentrating, problems following a particular schedule, stigma, prejudice and discrimination” The video calls what is So Funny about Mental Illness? Presented by Ruby Wax on TED talks said that “How come every other organ in your body can get sick and you get sympathy, except the brain?” When the person coughs or is bleeding everybody should pay attention and help them, but when they cannot see the illness or when it is about feeling people and society can be very insensitive and see it as a weakness or stigma. Not to mention, the stigma not only goes to the person with mental illness but also to their family members.
Mass media “references to people with mental health problems found more than four in ten articles in the press used derogatory terms about mental health and nearly half of press coverage related mental illness to violence and crime” (Esseler, 244). This is causing for people to look down upon the mention of mental illnesses and many times ignore the importance of confronting this issue. Therefore the importance of removing this stigmatization is crucial. Education allows to make more informed decisions and then changing the perception of mental illness can lead towards policy changes toward the improvement of mental health (Sakellari,