Public Awareness Announcement...
Mentally Ill Afraid to Speak Out
Negative tradition attached to mental illness deters those affected.
Stigma surrounding mental illnesses and those who suffer from them persists around the world today, due to false media and negative connotations, but can be reduced through education and a spread of awareness.
“What you really fear the most isn’t the suffering inside of you, it’s the stigma inside of others,” said mental health activist Kevin Breel, “It’s the shame and embarrassment. We live in a world where when you break your arm everyone runs over to sign your cast, but if you tell people you’re depressed everyone runs the other way.” The stigma associated with mental illness in the United States and other countries across the globe is a predominant problem even in this day and age. Stigma causes “shame, blame, hopelessness, distress, misrepresentation in the media, reluctance to seek and/or accept necessary help,” stated the Government of Western Australia Mental Health Commission. “Families are also affected by stigma, leading to a lack of support. For mental health professionals, stigma means that they themselves are seen as abnormal, corrupt or evil, and psychiatric treatments are often viewed with suspicion and horror.” A mental disorder is a physical sickness in the brain, and yet mentally ill patients are not afforded the same courtesies as those outwardly injured. When a person is diagnosed with a high temperature or a broken bone, they are sent kind messages, gifts, and are given leave from work until they are fully recovered—and yet the workers and students diagnosed with mental disorders are expected to carry on as usual.
In the United States, approximately one in every five adults experiences mental illness every year, and one in twenty-five experience a serious mental illness which limits one or more of their major life activities. If these numbers are so high and mental illness is so common, then why is there such a negative social reaction? Dating back to the beginning of time, the mentally ill have been misunderstood. During the Victorian Era, so-called ‘insane’ men and women were sentenced to life in asylums for disorders which psychiatrists today have identified as anxiety, depression, and other easily treated conditions. Even now, ‘mentally ill’ and ‘crazy’ are often used interchangeably. “In cinema and television, mental illness is the substrate for comedy, more usually laughing at than laughing with the characters,” said Peter Byrne, Senior Lecturer at East Kent NHS Community Trust. “…people with mental illness are frequently portrayed as victims, pathetic characters, or ‘the deserving mad’…The media perpetuate stigma, giving the public narrowly focused stories based around stereotypes.” Though psychiatric professionals have since been able to better understand the nature of mental illnesses, widespread myths persist and cloud most of America’s perception of what is truly an ordinary ailment.
Many people believe that mental illness is actually caused by personal weakness. Some assume that those suffering from a mental illness can simply ‘snap out of it’ or ‘pull themselves together.’ These assumptions are completely false. Mental illness is actually caused by genetic, biological, environmental, and social factors, with nothing to do with the person’s personality or character. In most cases, mental illness cannot be ‘cured’ by personal strength alone. Different kinds of medications have been scientifically proven to affect the human anatomy in a way which helps to mend what was ill and positively affect the mind and body of the patient. “Mental illness, despite centuries of learning and the ‘Decade of the Brain’, is still perceived as an indulgence, a sign of weakness,” said Byrne. “As part of the ‘them and us’ strategy, mental disorders have also been conferred with highly charged negative connotations of self-infliction, an excuse for laziness and criminality.” In the UK, a survey showed that over 80% of people endorsed a statement saying the majority of people are embarrassed by the mentally ill, and about 30% agreed that they themselves, personally, are embarrassed by mentally ill people. A 2006 study conducted in Australia found that 1 in 4 people felt depression was an indication of personal weakness and would not employ a person with depression; a third “would not vote for a politician with depression”, and one person in every five said that “if they had depression they would not tell anyone,” according to the website of the Government of Western Australia Mental Health Commission.
“The more hidden mental illness remains, the more people continue to believe that it is shameful and needs to be concealed,” said the Mental Health Commission. The majority of people suffering from mental illness feel that, due to popular reception, their illness is something they cannot talk about or admit to, for fear of damage to their reputation in the eyes of their peers. This widespread, self-stigmatizing reaction to a one’s own diagnosis is one reason why so many people suffer from mental illness but relatively no one hears about these cases. “Secrecy acts as an obstacle to the presentation and treatment of mental illness at all stages,” said Byrne. “So, unlike physical illness, when social resources are mobilised, people with mental disorders are removed from potential supports. Poorer outcomes in chronic mental disorders are likely when patients' social networks are reduced.” Oftentimes, shame can become so great that it will override even the most severe symptoms of a psychiatric illness.
“It's just that because a mental illness is often silent and invisible, people don't realise the daily struggle,” said ‘Time to Change’ blogger Lucy. And so the question seems to be this: how can the truths of mental illness be brought out into the open? “The starting point for all target groups and at every level is education,” Byrne said, but education alone cannot defeat the powerful stigma. “The ‘carrot’ of education must be accompanied by the ‘stick’ of challenges to media misrepresentations, positive discrimination in the workplace, test cases in the courts, and legal sanction through (for example) the Disability Rights Commission.” An approach similar to that proposed by Byrne has been proved successful by the AIDS foundations and the gay community, both having achieved as a result of their efforts health promotion of AIDS and reductions in discrimination towards their defendants. “Stigma and its sequelae should achieve a prominent place on the curriculum of all health service professionals and their students. The latter group will be the decision-makers of the next millennium and will either initiate further social psychiatry research or make the same mistakes as their predecessors,” Byrne stated.
In order to conquer the stigma of mental illness, the mentally ill are encouraged to venture from their hiding places and share their stories and experiences with their peers. There is a need to inform others and educate the ignorant population. Without education and media promotion, incorrect beliefs about psychiatric conditions will continue to plague lives and fill our societies with detrimental untruth. Multiple wheels have been already set in motion, such as the campaigns of National and World Mental Health Day, Mental Illness Awareness Week, and more. We must let others affected by mental illness and stigma know that they are not alone in their struggles; let us band together, confide in each other, and create an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding, so that we finally may beat down the wall which stands to separate mental illness from the understanding of the rest.
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Harriet Norcross is an aspiring reporter committed to sharing truth and changing the world for the better through the dissemination of information and news.
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