Why Do We Stigmatize This?

well this forum is for mental health discussion so i'm sure members here may want to post their thoughts on this aricle. it begins with the military 'don't ask, don't tell' policy (perhaps misleading), but as you read the article the bulk of it addresses what many or all of us face having a mental disorder dx. i personally am cautious of divulging my dx to ppl due to the fact MI is so misunderstood. we are in the mainstream of life just like everyone else who do not have our challenges. i quoted the last paragraph cause is so descriptive regarding us and offers a positive suggestion for others to consider.
.... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-h...=mental-health

People fear what they don't understand, the second most people hear "mental illness" they think: "oh he/she is crazy."
People need to be better educated on all types of illness, mental and physical. If everyone is better educated it will mean better help for those affected and people will be more understanding.

I agree that people don't understand so then they get concerns that "could" be unreal. The only thing is- Who will educate them?

I will agree with me personally it is not like I go around and tell everyone my dx, my upbringing and so on- but some people I do indulgent on that either I see have similar struggles in real life, or wont be so judgmental or that are truly innocent with thought/good person some understand- others are ignorant or naive on the subject.

I would wish that one day, things could be more understood. I really do, but then I also dream of a world that we all worked together- but some things just wont happen.

Thanks for posting the article Madisgram

My younger brother had some kids at his school who thought that schizophrenia meant that the person was 'retarded'. Yeah...educating people on MI seems like a good idea. And as one person said, we fear what we do not understand. Normally, whenever we hear that someone has a mental illness, we tend to think that the person hears voices telling them to kill people.

I don't know who could educate people, and I know it's very grand of me saying it should be done and then doing nothing myself but maybe if there was some sort of group that went to schools and thought kids about different types of mental illnesses, like some sort of workshop it could make a difference.

I would not see why it could not be part of mandated health studies that I know some states make the kids do- General sexual education is in many schools for the US, not sure about other countries- I am not talking about a deep into psychology - but a brush of the topic so there is not such a stigma on mental health.. I am sorry but human beings in a cluster have issues, I think it would be good.
Not one of us can go out and teach the world, let alone try to teach people who literally do not have the capacity to fully understand; but if the kids are reached at a younger age than the adults with learning things, their little minds can adsorb the information better,

The only thing with that idea is in the meaning to on how to educate... by what I mean there is that ... let's take history for example- the conqueror tells the tale. meaning not all could be "true" on what is written in the text books due to they mainly go by the conqueror's tale... Not till eons later does some history get re-written for more truth comes out from other sides.

And psychology- I believe is a long life learning and is always something new to find due to we are humans. and we don't "know" everything with the brain or minds

But it would be nice, a little education

I think, as with any discussion involving "society", there are too many unnamed "people" involved. Everyone has problems; each of us sling the opinionated mud and have the mud slung at us at one time or another.

I don't identify with my handicaps, I either accept them (so other's uneducated opinions are meaningless) or I'm working to overcome them (so other's opinions don't matter, unless they have an idea that I think might help me).

Hey Guys...

Actually, there may be more going on than you may realize..especially at the college level at least. In the high schools and below, parents have made it so vehemently clear that we cannot tell kids anything that might influence them although they are very well informed indeed. At the college level, there are definitely groups raising awareness about SI, ED's, LGTB awareness, depression, alcoholism, rape and date rape, STD's, on campus counseling services, drug addictions, and other things...many of these groups are being led by students and also pushed forward by national non-profit groups that also see the need for earlier education and awareness of mental illnesses and addictions. Deniswazere, I know the SI awareness movement has been catching on in universities quite well with a strong forum over there. I've seen my kids in middle school and elementary school are very definitely getting the strong no drug, no alcohol, no cigarette messages and DEA agents and red ribbon weeks are popular events.

But rather than thinking of nebulous people, I already lightly introduce the idea of all types of people and different types of illness and disorders both physical and mental/emotional and handicaps and general empathy for all people. That can be taught any day to any child around you with a smile or a silly face and respecting their space and having them respect yours. It also shows in how you treat people that are different than you in front of any child whether it's holding a door or giving a homeless person a sandwich or helping someone in a wheelchair...easy stuff. Just my opinion and what I've seen locally..and heard in my groups..

Take care,

Wysteria Blue

This is a subject I have thought about a lot actually. Since my diagnosis I have come to view those with mental illness very differently than before. It is very hard to someone who has not experienced mental illness to understand that the person suffering is not doing it to themselves. They do not choose to be depressed, have bi-polar etc. I know it is hard to believe but things have improved when you think of those people who have the same problems we have were once locked in an institution with the hope we would just go away. No matter what diagnosis they had...but we still have a way to go. Too many mentally ill still end up homeless and uncared for. Their illness ravaging what is left of their self-esteem and overall health. Education is key for sure and maybe folks brave enough to talk to others...

Hey Mom88cat,

I explained to my boys that there are chemicals in my brain that are not working or balanced properly and that is why I get sad a lot or whatever and is the basis for a lot of other mental disorders and that is why we have to take pills and go to see therapists to learn how to deal with our emotions better because we feel them more strongly than some other people. Sometimes I get them to understand that some of the children they see are born that way and they have special angels that watch over them so we have to be extra kind and help the angels watch over them too. If we show them just to be kind and friendly and as normal as possible and let that person lead us..it will be ok. I won't teach them pity..just empathy and to help where they can. Watch them...they then teach their friends...it's pretty cool... It doesn't take take a lot of ripples to make some bigger waves some days.

WB

This is all well & good, but huge amounts of community education are all undone by a single newscast, just one headline: "Mentally Ill Neighbor Rapes, Batters 2 Elderly Women."

Face it, the media jump on the phrase "mentally ill," or words bipolar, schizophrenia, etc. Slowly the stigma might fade as science advances, but I don't see much hope in the immediate future except for one-on-one teaching.

I agree Roadrunner...in general..people like to play the fear card and stigmatize any group that they can. But on the flip side, you also saw a huge media and public outcry when the mentally handicapped man was beaten by the 8? Fullerton, CA police officers a few months ago.

Obviously movies like Psycho and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest among others, have badly damaged the image of both the mentally ill and the mental health system. The emptying of many of the state mental facilities in the early 70's only compounded the problem as many who were unable to take care of themselves became homeless and vagrants along with the rise in the drug addict populations.

But, there are more positive movies coming out now that show a lighter side and more positive slant. One in 5 families are now affected by someone with a serious mental disorder, and it will only rise as Alzheimer's cases and dementia cases rise with the aging population. There is a lot to consider, and we can't wait until tomorrow to begin to make changes and get honest if only in our own families and communities. I'm not a Pollyanna, nor on a soap box...just being real and doing what I can...

I know my kids will face a very different population landscape than I do now in just 20+ years. I don't think we'll be ready for the changes at all personally. The amount of support really needed for the patients and their families is nowhere near in place and those budgets are always the first to be slashed.

Personally, it scares me. I've seen the underbelly of mental healthcare here.

Wysteria Blue

Your absolutely right! You have to be very selevtivte with whom you decide to
divulge yiur mental health status with. Especially if yiur chsttting it up with a group of " friends" at work or elsewhere, ghost contains dome sensitive personal info you may not want passed around, and that's just the kind of info that would get around! Since MI is so understudied and misconstrued one is likely to lably you and that can follow you for a very. Long time! So don't trust every Tom, **** and Harry besides leaving some questions unawnsered about yourself makes you a bit mysterious.

Well, since not in treatment I don't usually tell. I feel even stigmatized in the MH "community" since I refuse to subscribe to the traditional medical point of view (which is my problem with "educating public". Many will tell people us with issues "cannot work" and such. So I feel normals don't understand how hard it is for me to face seemigly normal situations with my anxiety and I cannot really tell I am struggling, because to them it's sign of weakness. People with issues told me I am a faker, because I would "have to be" on meds otherwise and that it is impossible to distract from "I wanna kill myself" by thrusting myself into reading on how post-modernism influenced the doctrine of humanitarian intervention or whatnot).

I don!t speak of my health concerns too. It is my pet peeve when people do. I guess I sat through too many b-day parties of my grandparents where surgeries and side effects of cholesterol meds were told in sickenick detail. I usually don't tell people I have bad back either.