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Taking care of mental health essay
Essays on stigma of mental health
Essays on stigma of mental health
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The U.S Department of Health reports that 1 in 5 Americans are affected by mental illness. With that statistic in mind, what are the odds of someone close to you living with anxiety or depression? Do they show their symptoms? Do they seek help? More often than not, people struggling with a mental illness shy away from support or are too embarrassed to come to terms that they need help. This is why lessening the stigmas against mental illness with the use of public awareness is key to help those in need get help. Stigma is synonymous with negative connotation. Unfortunately, there are three main stigmas surrounding mental illness that hinders the mentally ill from pursuing treatment. The first deals with how society, looks down upon those
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.
Stigma is associating negative qualities with having a mental illness. Someone who is mentally ill may be wrongly viewed or view themselves as being weak or “damaged,” leading to feelings of shame or embarrassment. It is a huge barrier that may prevent people with mental illness and their family from seeking out help. Stigma is overall a specific diagnostic sign of a disease (Webster dictionary). According to the Connecticut Department of Mental Health And Addiction Services, it is stated that many people with either a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness don’t want to seek help because they don’t want to be labeled as “mentally ill” or “crazy.” No one should be mistreated because they were born different. Whether physical, behavioral
Rusch, et al. "Mental Illness Stigma: Concepts, Consequences, And Initiatives To Reduce Stigma." European Psychiatry 20-8 (2005): 529-539. Print.
The discussion of mental health is slowly being brought to the social surface to create a more inclusive society for those dealing with a mental illness. However, those with a mental illness are continuously being affected by stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination by those who simply don’t comprehend the complexity of the human brain (Glaser, G.2017). As more people become mental health activist, they are exposing the plethora of issues surrounding the overall mental and physical stability of those who are negatively affected by the social construct of what it means to be normal.
Throughout her presentation, she explains how public stigmas, once again, cause label avoidance pushing many who need help away from treatment. She then goes on to explain how these stereotyped behaviors cause discrimination towards people with a mental illness from employment to housing which only leads to the creation of more stigmas. Finally, she states how the impact of stigmas is associated with the reduction of self-esteem, overall poor health, and problems with interpersonal relationships (Willits). By using this presentation I am able to connect what we have learned about mental health stigmas to my article. First off, for example, Morris explains how psychiatric units invoke people to imagine a frightening place where insane patients are strapped down and poked and prodded for care (Morris). This stereotypical idea relates to how Willits described general stereotypes associated with mental illness such as crazy and dangerous (Willits). On top of that, Willits explained how these stigmas have negative consequences for patients (Willits). This relates to Morris’s explanation on how the stigma around institutions has caused these units to shut down forcing many people to be homeless or live in jail
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.
Millions of individuals will be affected by poor mental health, although anyone can experience these problems, there are people from certain backgrounds and social situations who put themselves at greater risk; there are many more factors than can influence or worsen the disorder. There are current theoretical models that analyse mental health stigma as a complex theme that involves many features, such as; social environment/backgrounds, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, behavioural problems and discrimination (Świtaj et al., 2014). There are many authors of different articles that agree that stigmatisation cannot be understood to it full extent without considering the perspective of people with mental illnesses, who ultimately play an important
Mental health illness affects 26.2 % of the United states adults ages 18 and up. That is 1 in 4 people as of 2004 ("The Number"). Mental health illness does affect over a quarter of the United states population to include me as one of the people who suffer from it. This has affected me and changed my life drastically. Aside from the difficulties of having a mental health illness is how people react to me once they find out. This is widely due to mass media creating a stigma for the mental health ill people that most of the general population tend to believe in the United states.
The two different types of stigma have different effects on the attitude towards those with mental health issues. The public stigma can lead to discrimination and prejudice. The prejudice and discrimination that result from the public stigma can prevent those diag...
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.
In the article Issues and Controversies says, "Throughout most of human history, people with mental illness were ostracized, isolated, and persecuted." ( Infobase,1) This belief system can give causation of mental illness in different cultures and such influences in a community will always be in a negative manner. Various societies struggle with the notion of mental health. The standards of every culture believe to be considered normal, natural, or healthy. These views lead to disagreements about the causes, diagnosis, and the treatment of the disorders. Many people with mental problems are discriminated against because of their mental disorder. Mental illness and stigma refers to the view of the person with mental illness as having undesirable traits. Stigma leads to negative behavior, stereotyping, and discriminatory behavior towards the person with mental health issues. This stigma causes the affected person to experience denial or shame of their condition. Perceived stigma can result in the patient being scared to seek help. Stigma can be divided into two perspectives, public and self stigma. Upadhyay says, "Public stigma occurs when the general
middle of paper ... ... It is important to let friends and family know that support is available, just in case someone is tackling some form of mental illness. Just because someone is experiencing a hurdle in their lives, it is essential to continue to help them carry on in striving for the happiness that they deserve. We should all be aware of the effect our actions could have, to try a little bit harder to eliminate the stigma that exists within our society.
The stigma is created by the lack of knowledge, narrow-minded attitudes, and the acts of judgment against people who have a mental illness. The stigma results in extensive consequences for the individuals being affected. The stigma ends up becoming worse than the mental illness itself because it prevents individuals from seeking help during the early stages of the mental illness. There is even a vast availability of mental-health treatments that are effective, yet the majority of people experiencing problems related to mental-health does not seek help. 28% of the adult population of the United States have a diagnosable mental condition and only 8% seek treatment. These statistics help prove that stigma is one of the main reasons for individuals not willing to seek help. The individual fears being stigmatized. They fear being rejected by their loved ones and the general public. They do not want to be devalued. The way that individuals with mental illnesses are called “the mentally ill” in the media just makes the stigma even worse. This makes the person feel defined solely by their disability, which is inhumane. The person begins to feel less of a human being. In the media, they are viewed as being dangerous and violent, which results with inhumanity towards the individual. This just increases the negative stereotypes towards individuals with a mental
Mental Illness is one of the most common health issues today worldwide, but it is also one of the most ignored illnesses. A negative stigma has been attached to mental illness since they first started discovering the illness and diagnosing people. Increased awareness of mental illness among all spheres of culture and society is necessary because of the rising prevalence of mental illnesses, the negative stigma attached that leads to discrimination, and the success of awareness programs. Since the beginning of realization of mental illness there has always been a negative stigma towards it and that stigma continues to exist in society today. When mental illnesses first started to become recognized people were not taken to the hospital and treated like others with a sickness.
The people who will be participating in the community organizing know the community the best – they have lived here for a long time, know the expectations as well as the stigmas that exist within the community, are aware of the cliques and who holds the most power, and have personal experience with the mental health stigma spewed out by fellow community members. The smaller the community is the larger the stigma is (Smalley et al., 2010), so it is important that we are able to utilize every segment of the community in the intervention. Just as with accessing mental health care, being able to entice the right people to join a community organizing movement can make or break the overall process. Without at least one respected person within the