Mental Illness And Mental Illness

Ever since the concept of mental illness became more mainstream, it has become a widely controversial topic. Based on what has been seen in society, people who are involved with mental disorders are often dehumanized in some way.

In the film, the mental health professionals acknowledged this irony, however they misdiagnosed three of the five participants with a mental illness. I valued the mental health professional’s credentials and felt their status would lead to a high percentage of proper diagnoses. The result of the professionals mislabeling two of the ten participants with a history of mental illness, made me aware that a certain amount of experience, education, or status does not prevent

Misinformation and misperception about mental illness can lead to the stigmatization of ourselves, our parents, our children, our spouses and others that we care about. The consequences of stigma range from social isolation to poverty to barriers to quality treatment and care. Stigma perpetrated on a grand scale can result in a system that reinforces the idea that people diagnosed with mental illnesses are unimportant and therefore are unworthy of access to quality and affordable care. Some media outlets (films and television) serve to perpetuate negative stereotypes and reinforce stigma. Although relatively few people with mental illness act out in

Self-pity and pessimistic attitudes remain a topic of discussion with a mentally ill patient, however the more valuable picture revolves around the stigma that the public holds towards those with a mental illness. Unrun Ozer, member of International Committee of National Journal Editors, acknowledges that, “Stigmatization is described as attributing someone in a way that would decrease the person’s reputation because the individual strays away from the general norms of the society” ( 225). Ozer clarifies that a stigma is an unfavorable viewpoint that society has on someone that is perceived as different. Those with a mental illness are susceptible to vulnerability because they are at a small disadvantage than the normal person. Negative connotations, such as adverse viewpoints and perplexing labels, affect the care and treatment process of those suffering because their compliance to treatment decreases. Society is too quick to judge and be ignorant if someone isn’t in perfect form, and Ozer reports, “ It has been reported that individuals with mental illnesses are seen by the society as dangerous, frightening, unstable, irresponsible, unpredictable, and having communication problems” (Ozer 225). Ozer declares that these labels are degrading to an individual with a mental illness, and cause feelings of introversion, decreased self-confidence, worthlessness, shame and despair. If we want happiness to be achievable for all, then criticizing individuals is a step in the wrong

A lot of thoughts and observations come to mind while watching The New Asylums. This is a documentary about life in prison for people who have mental diseases, so some of the thoughts and observations are actually quite sad. Many of the prisoners shown in the documentary look sad and defeated, and they have a right to, because having a mental disease even in the real world is very hard. In prison, they are allowed to refuse their medication, although at least there are people who will try to help them. Still, it looks miserable, even more miserable than prison looks for people who aren't suffering from a disease like schizophrenia. Mental illness is often used as the punch line of a joke, but like most other punch lines, it isn't that

According to the Mental Health Commission of Western Australia, stigma can cause patients to feel shame, hopelessness, distress, and make them not seek help in fear of being labeled as “crazy.” Media depictions of mental illness and bipolar disorder can cause a vicious cycle. According to Atkins, stigma and prejudice against bipolar disorder can lead television and movie writers to focus on “scary, out-of-control people who do bad things” (Atkins PAGE NUMBER), which then further convinces the public that people with mental illness are dangerous. The seriousness of mental illness can also be downplayed because of stigma. By using the word “bipolar” to refer to everyday mood swings, the public may not think that bipolar disorder exists or that it is a serious ailment. According to Mikayla DeLeon, the word is used “jokingly” among her friends. In her experience, “it [is] an insult… [It’s] not really taken seriously”. These contrasting misconceptions can make people who are suffering with a mental disorder not want to seek help. They may also fear telling their loved ones because they fear being seen differently by their friends and coworkers, being labelled as “crazy,” and losing opportunities at work. Jessica Blaikie, a young woman that suffers from mental illness says that, because of the misconceptions surrounding mental illness, “I was so afraid to say anything

Hurt is the strongest type of human emotion that all experience. William Wordsworth describes poetry as the “overflow of powerful feelings”. For an individual with a mental illness powerful emotions are a regular occurrence. “I am just carbon and bad timing” describes a poet with OCD. Poetry enforced the belief of the tremendous hurt these people experience. The lack of conforming to conventionalism has led them to being excluded from society “do you think I am a freak…a nut… a loon?” These words all carry greatly negative connotations and strip away the humanity of a person labelled as one. By dehumanizing those with mental illness indescribable hurt is

More and more celebrities have been stepping out and telling their story to encourage others to get the help they need. Each year organizations are formed with one purpose in mind; to gain awareness on mental illness in order to break the stigma. But is that enough? With the media exuding this stigma like a parasite slowly affecting its prey.With the news constantly exaggerating these stories beyond their true happenings. With movies using false notions and writing mentally ill off as extreme violence, unbearable depressives, exaggerated perfectionists, or insane narcissists with no in between. It is not enough. No matter how much information and knowledge reaches the population it is immediately crushed by the media of this generation that benefits and profits from these false depictions. This very stigma that is seeping from the media is mentally poisoning those who are actually mentally weak to the degree which they are afraid to get help due to fear of not wanting anyone to know of their condition and being rejected from society. But not getting help overtime can build up hostile feelings which will manifest itself in another light, and often as we have seen in recent news, that light is not very

Mental illness is often wrongly portrayed in the United States’ media creating stigmatization and misrepresentation. Mental illness “refers to a wide range of mental disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). Examples of disorders include anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Any “negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are called stigma” (Wilson et al., 2016, p. 2) and stigma can contribute to progression of mental illness because of its harmful effects due to misrepresentation in the media. In the recent years, the United States media has began to address the reprehension around the topic of mental illness, as it has began to develop into a rising problem in citizens across the nation. In the past, any portrayal of a figure or character with a mental disorder would be wrongly depicted, therefore, creating a distorted perception for the viewers (Stout et al., 2004, p. 1). Television shows have started to establish characters with mental illness in hopes to lessen the stigma behind ill characters due to the wrongful associations viewers may make. The way media viewers’ stereotype the mentally ill into categories can be harmful to the well being of those with disorders. Stereotypes can be so harmful that even medical professionals “contend that stigma is a major reason why one-fourth of the estimated 50 million Americans experiencing mental illness yearly will not seek

“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” -Malcolm X. It can be said without a doubt that media plays a massive role in how society views certain things. A negative media portrayal ultimately leads to negativity and stigma towards whichever group. One of the groups that is severely impacted by these dismissive representations is mental illness. The portrayal of mental illness in mass media as violent, amusing, or downright “nuts”, is inaccurate and vilifying, but can be resolved by the inclusion of mental health specialist in program planning.

Roughly one in every five adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Yet, with that many people being affected, there is still a stigma surrounding mental illnesses. However common, it is not yet something people want to talk about. When someone is diagnosed with cancer, they aren’t told that they aren’t getting better because they simply “aren’t trying hard enough.” Paraplegics aren’t called lazy because they can’t walk. Yet for some reason, people have no problem telling someone with depression that they should just “try harder” to be happy, or someone with ADHD that they are simply being lazy, and could focus if they wanted to. It is undeniable that mental health is something that we as a society don't like to talk about. Perhaps it is because it is something we simply don't yet understand.

If people were to learn about the misconceptions in society about mental illness, they would have a better understanding that many ideas are not true. One misconception is that a mental illness is a sign of weakness (Morin 2). For example, depression is an illness where symptoms perceive as lazy or uneducated. Having a good job and wonderful relationship, but still managing not to get out of bed in the morning and get over yourself will be seen as weak to society. The fact is, mentally ill people are not weak, but strong. The fact that people with these mental health problems are pushing through the worst makes them strong, brave, and a

Common stigmas with mental illness include feeling as though you will somehow be threatened by the individual whose mind is not well. It is also thought that someone with mental illness may be obviously identifiable, such as someone who is unkempt, or does not exercise good hygiene. The media does its fair share of perpetuating and instilling these images that many of us have of someone who is mentally ill. Another stigma is that the person on the corner who may be talking or mumbling to himself and is wearing torn, tattered, and dirty clothing must be a drug addict and couldn’t possibly be very intelligent. We do not stop to think that his mind may be in the process of being tortured by voices and magnified sounds.

Mental health—and the stigma that comes along with it—is a very important issue, one of global importance. Shah and Beinecke explain that 450 to 500 million people suffer from mental illnesses (15). Just considering the amount of people who suffer from mental illness is enough to prove that this is a global issue. Despite the large amounts of people who are affected by mental illness, only one third of countries have some sort of program to help (15). This shows the lack of concern for those who suffer from mental illness. Stereotypes affect many people, and those with mental illness are no exception. Everyone has their own preconceived perspectives and notions of mental health, and many of them are uninformed and unjustified. It is up to us to start changing our viewpoints on mental health.

Mental illness is a broad term encompassing all diagnosable mental disorders. And for some disorders— especially mood disorders, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, and personality disorders—it’s hard to know if a person is suffering from such. You never know who might be the people affected; who are suffering because they are emotionally unstable; who are hallucinating and hearing voices inside their own heads; who are having dark thoughts; and those who have anxiety. It may be the ones who are close to you—your friends, your mother, your father, or even your siblings—or they could even be the person sitting right next to you. Some people who suffer from mental disorders may even be sharing laughs with you, and you wouldn’t even know.