Public's view on mental health

Hello people. I couldn't find a good section to put this in so I put it here. Move it if you have to.

Anyways, when I went to Shopper's Drug Mart (I don't know where they have this in the world, but I am from Canada so), I looked at their pamphlet section. I found one on emotional health and was like "cool, wonder what this is about" and it was only on depression. Why couldn't they have labelled that depression instead of emotional health? Do they think that's the only emotional health we have? I know there is still stigma, but don't label it something unless it's explaining everything under the category. They mentioned comorbid conditions, but nothing about them. The public is getting more knowledgeable aboug mental health, which is good, but there is a lot to work on. Is there anything else you have noticed about the public's opinion on mental health? Pamphlets, info sessions, stuff like that? Thanks.

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it's a sad truth that so many people just don't get it.

and i've said this time and time again, and i'll say it here too
if the pubblic did more research about mental health issues, and actually stopped asuming that just because someone has a mental illness they are good for nothing, they might actually learn something and be shocked.

trouble is, we live in a world where many people just don't care. and it's a sad truth.

the media's not helping either.

portraying mentally ill people as killers. how is that helping our image

People are only interested when it affects their immediate family. It seems like no one wants to learn about mental unless it effects them. My daughter works as a school counselor and it seems that parents don't really want to know or find out how to help their children that are affected by mental health issues. Nor or the teachers willing to go that extra step to help students with mental health problems.

So many of our young people are affected by social anxiety and anxiety in general and need help. I wish there was more education on such matters, and not so much negative stuff in the news about mental health. Raise awareness. Doctor's offices should really have pamphlets about more specific problems.

Hello,
I have read your query, but I really don’t have any idea about it. I wish i could help you. I can only suggest you to take care of your health as much as you can. Try to include fruits and veggies in your diet avoid junk foods it will be injurious for your health.

Truth be told, this is just another reason why I don't give a damn about society or their standards nor do I desire to fit in or be like everybody else.

Just because somebody has mental health issues doesn't mean that they are going to be a serial killer or shoot up a school but good luck telling the idiots in society that.

I blame the fact that all of the stupid people are having 3-5 or more children while those with higher intelligence often don't have any or have 1-2 at the very most. Unfortunately, the stupid people have us outnumbered

100% true.

People have become too lazy and don't care about others (most people). If it doesn't affect them, who cares? That's their opinion. It is only when they have it that they care.

The media is just a biased, bad influence on every single person. Apparently there is only 6 main news places in the world. Any other news comes from a bigger chain, which probably is under the big 6.

Most mentally ill people don't kill anyone. If they did (which I am not saying everyone or no one does), then it would be more likely because of defensive reasons. But people blame it on mental health so.

I somewhat agree with that. My family doesn't care that I have two anxiety disorders and probably ASD and AD(H)D. They constantly make fun of me in social situations (my social anxiety) and when I worry too much about things (generalized anxiety). It sucks a lot.

Exactly. I don't know about where you are, but I told how I felt to one teacher at my school, and I think she went through a major depressive state so she understands. She has told me she has been on anti-depressants before and that she wasn't allowed to work full time for 6 years I think because her psychiatrist said no.

Anyways, she has been a major help and I don't know what I would have done without her. She has helped with my mental issues a lot. Also, one of my other teachers helps me when I have panic attacks. She does work with people from the special needs group (that's what we call it where I am from), which mostly consists of people with severe ASD, but I think some of them have tic disorders also. She is really nice to them though.

I wish people would care more about others, but. Not everyone is like that.

Thanks for your response. I meant how the public explains/thinks how people with mental health behave and what type of mental health there is.

There is a new peanut butter advertisement here in Australia....Where parents say that their son is 'Nuts'..then they put a picture up of the jar of peanut butter on screen with the slogan 'Kraft Peanut Butter..The Right kind of Nuts' Really derogatory to those with Mental Illness I feel, as saying someone is 'Nuts' is a slang term for mentally Ill. There are also dreadful slang terms for paraplegics and those that are brain damaged, yet these terms have fallen into disuse for obvious reasons. When is the world going to catch up, and stop denigrating & ridiculing the Mentally Ill?

The majority of people do not have the interest or care to acquire a sufficient comprehension of psychological disorders and illnesses. Mental health issues are not visible, which causes uneducated people to brush them off.

Like some posters have already stated above, people will only go out of their way to research mental health if;

1.) They have a genuine interest in psychology and mental health. 2.) They suffer from a mental illness or disorder themselves.
3.) Someone they know or someone who is close to them is suffering.

And even then, you can't expect people, by their own volition, to take the time to try to understand. Even if the resources for gaining knowledge about certain subjects are at their disposal, people won't go out of their way. It's laziness and indifference on their end.

Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do about the media being a contributor to the stigmatization of mental illness and prejudice against mentally ill people. Another contributing factor, of course, is the label mental illness, it's associated with extremes like psychopathy and psychosis by the average person, resulting in fear and misunderstanding.

I find it hard to believe that there is such little awareness/ understanding about mental illness when there is a statistic that 1 in 4 people at some point in their lives will encounter some form of MI. Perhaps because the status quo has been to keep it hush hush and on the down-low, that's how it's going to continue being unless there is some huge spark/ revolution such as the gay rights movement. The problem is, most people aren't exactly well..proud of declaring "I have XYZ Disorder." The label itself "Disorder" just sounds unappealing. What's interesting though is that someone who confides that they have cancer will get much more sympathy than someone admitting they have depression. People simply don't know how to react. They get quiet and are not sure what to say. Even when my sister tries to tell me she knows her friend is depressed, every time she says that dreadful word she whispers it. "You know my friend who is *whisper* depressed?" YES, I do know and stop whispering it like it's something tainted. God forbid. You already know her situation and why she is extremely depressed, it's not something to be ashamed of, but people do a 180degree turn once they find out and try not to talk about it or think about it. It makes us inflicted with it feel ashamed for even having any mental illness. It is saddening, but until the majority of people are willing to embrace other peoples faults (even though this is not even a fault but labeling something as a disorder or as an illness just makes it sound like a flaw or something is wrong or not normal) there is not going to be much advancement in awareness or acceptance of those with MI.

I'm sorry about the (dumb) ad they played. These terms also suck a lot. About your question, I am not sure. I hope sometime soon.

Agree. Welcome to psych central by the way .

For me, I don't think number 3 relates to my family and friends at all. They know that I have social anxiety and generalized, but none of them have looked up anything on it.

The media for mental health is usually dumb.

Thanks for your response .

You have a different approach to most people that responded to my post. The statistic in Canada are slightly different (1 in 5), but it is still high. I just feel people keep it "hush hush" because unless you have experienced it, someone won't know how that person is. There are physical signs, but not a lot. Cancer is easier to confine to someone, in my opinion, because there are a lot of physical signs for it. And also, people know that you have a chance to die if you have cancer. Mental health though, (trigger) someone may hurt or (more trigger) kill themselves. If people were more educated on this, maybe less people would die because of mental health. And it sucks that even your sister does that. To be honest, I do this to in public because the public will judge you for talking about mental health. Thanks for the post .

Hi Nike

You are absolutely right. I believe in always calling a spade a spade. I do know that here in the UK, where I live there are ads on TV telling people with depression to talk to a friend and get the necessary help. On Scandinavian TV they list symptoms and ask anyone experiencing them to contact the doctor. This is progress in UK dramas there is much more portrayal of people with bipolar psychosis and other disorders. This helps the public understand more. I hope and pray you have a really great day. God bless and best wishes from your friend Francis

Thanks for the response. I was just wondering if these characters are displaced correctly if they have bipolar, psychosis, etc. or do they just show the worse things about it? It would be bad if they didn't show the right symptoms of the entire picture.

It's good that the public is being a bit more educated in this manner. To be honest, I didn't know what mental disorders or anything was until I figured out I have social anxiety disorder, along with generalized, making me research everything about mental health. Now I know a lot about it.