Mental Illness In Today's Society

Mental illness in this manner is the belief that such illnesses can be identified and classified (As in the DSM & ICD)

People with mental disorders were considered as vulnerable in the society due to the limitations in their rights. Such a situation of individuals cause oppressions as a result of dominant discourse prejudice. The capabilities of people with mental health histories often underestimated by the community. The result of such discrimination is devastating for individuals with mental health concerns. The focus of mental health intervention has undergone changes since its introduction. The treatment services have become more respectful of the rights of the individuals as the institutionalized services became more community oriented services (Rodriguez del Barrio et al., 2014). If a person is diagnosed with a mental disorder, the society tends to ostracize the individual and stigma attached to such situations can be termed as sanism (Morrow & Weisser, 2012). Sanism contributes to an organized suppression and oppression of mental health consumers (Perlin, 1992, 2003; Poole et al., 2012 as cited in LeBlanc & Kinsella, 2016). An intersectionality analysis coupled with anti-oppressive approach can be used to unpack sanism and other multiple oppressions faced by the marginalized population (Mullaly, 2010).

This essay will demonstrate my understanding of the impact of discrimination, labelling and stigma has on mental health people in health and social care. It has been documented that there are certain people who are stigmatized and mental health people often have a negative stereotype (Nordt et al., 2006). This negativity will often deter the mental health individuals to seek the help and medical treatment that they need due to the fear of stigmatisation and labelling.

Mental illness is a controversial topic in recent news. From Sandy Hook to the Aurora movie theatre shooting, the effects of mental illness have sparked fierce debate and negative stigma surrounding the issue. Mental illnesses, “patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional” (Myers 562), affect 1 in 4 people at some point in their lives ("Stigma and Discrimination"). However, only 59.6% of people with mental illness report receiving treatment, as they are often perceived as “dangerous, unpredictable, responsible for their illness, or generally incompetent” (Corrigan, Druss, and Perlick). As a result, an entire group of citizens is discriminated against for a condition beyond their control. With so much riding on the issue, a question needs to be addressed: to what extent does stigma surrounding mental illness affect the treatment of patients in healthcare and society? To explore the effects of stigma surrounding mental illness, it is essential to understand the issue through historical, sociocultural, economic, and scientific lenses.

Despite the growing knowledge and recognition of mental illness, stigma is still so rampant. Mental health patients are demonized, criminalized, and dehumanized. They are viewed as violent, filthy, unapproachable, incompetent, irresponsible, and most importantly dangerous. These labels, in turn, create prejudicial attitudes and discriminating behavior toward individuals suffering mental illness.

With that being said, anti-stigma programs have been developed to enhance the understandings of those labeled as mentally ill. The anti-stigma programs are aimed at both specific target groups and the general public (Henderson, 2013), to provide individuals with an opportunity to become knowledgeable and experienced with mental health (Corrigan, 2007a). Two messages that these programs address are for the public to stop reporting misrepresentations of mental illness, and for individuals to stop believing the negative views of mental illness (Corrigan & Watson, 2002). By addressing the concern of stigma, the programs also use the medical model as discussed in lecture on mental health (Savelli, 2016), to persuade the public that having a mental

This article was written by Patrick Corrigan, an author and advocate for people with a mental illness and Amy Watson a professor with interest in mental illness stigma and the treatment. In this article, both Corrigan and Watson on a psychological level, integrate research specific to the stigma of mental illness with a general research on stereotypes and prejudice to provide a brief overview on the issue. Throughout the article they explain public stigma, strategies for changing public stigma and self-stigma. This article is useful because it helped me to better understand the impact in a different way. After reading this article a decided to put a section about self-stigma in my argument because it was not something I thought about writing

Stigma is a negative stereotype. For persons with mental illness, stigma is one of the greatest barrier to complete and satisfying life. Mentally ill individuals are seen as being dangerous, violent and unpredictable. As a result of this view, the mentally ill are stereotyped, discriminated against, refused health insurance, jobs and independent living in pursuit of goals, difficulty keeping friends and even family members which

Society has created tags or categorization for individuals with a mental illness, but this types of labeling can affect an individuals’ emotionally and socially. The stigmas that our society is generating towards mentally ill individuals is clearly discriminating them by developing hostile attitudes, perception and unequal opportunities for them. According to the author “Second, patients’ damaged the self-concept then triggers defensive behaviors aimed at warding of others’ rejection: concealing psychiatric treatment history, educating others about mental illness and withdrawing from social interaction” (Kroska, 2011). The effects of cultural stigma can disturb a person’s daily live by restricting them to fully engage in social interactions.

To discuss the social issue of mental health is to take into account a wide range of related issues and concerns, because describing the problem brings other subjects up that should also be presented. Starting with mental illness, it is defined as a wide range of mental health conditions or disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder. In the United States one in four people have anxiety disorders while 20 percent have a serious mental illness (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Statistics [SAMHSA], 1998, p. 116).

There are many types of discrimination and stigma around mental health. So damaging, it impacts 63% of individuals living with mental illness alone. Social stigma holds people for believing they can live a fulfilled existence in spite of diagnosis and symptoms of mental illness. The number of studies showing what it’s called “diagnostic overshadowing” that is, over attributing a patient’s symptoms of a particular condition, in many cases, it means the medical morbidity of being undiagnosed and untreated is rising. This trend presents alarming numbers, making us, the sufferers, sicker and self-conscious of our own efforts to live a “normal life”. I have experienced stigma in its many forms: social, perceived, and self-stigma. But I was

Mental illness stigma may be defined as “a cluster of negative attitudes and beliefs that motivate the general public to fear, reject, avoid, and discriminate against people with mental illnesses” (Hogan, 2003, p.1467). There are three types of stigma; structural stigma, social stigma, and self-stigma. Structural stigma refers to policies that limit

In chapter five the author describes the different types of mental illness, what causes mental illness, the symptoms and treatments of common mental illness,categories of mood disorders, symptoms of depression and bipolar illness, suicide prevention, categories of anxiety disorders , the difference between fears and phobias, reasons for drug abuse, the meaning of psychosis, the biological causes of schizophrenia, treatment of schizophrenia and the different types of eating disorders. It is important to detect early symptoms of psychological disorders in children, adolescents, and adults. Psychologically healthy people have a strong desire to live a comfortable long life. Self- destructive behavior is viewed as abnormal. Persistent inappropriate

Individuals with serious mental illness are doubly affected by their disease; not only do they experience the often debilitating symptoms of their condition, but they must also endure mundane mental health stigmas and prejudices. Stigmatized attitudes are perceived to be one of the greatest impediments to living a complete and fulfilling life. Stigma has been defined as a combination of three related problems: ignorance, prejudice and discrimination (Rose, Thornicroft, Pinfold, & Kassam, 2007). Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, prejudice entails negative attitudes, and discrimination involves exclusionary actions against people deemed to be different. Two forms of stigma are commonly distinguished in literature. Public stigma describes the attitudes of society towards people with mental illness, while self-stigma results from the internalization of prejudice by people who suffer from mental health conditions (Corrigan, Powell, & Rüsch, 2012). The World Health Organization announced that stigma was the most crucial obstacle to overcome for a community to functioning effectively and efficiently (Ontario Hospital Association, 2013).

Mental illness is a health condition that affects an individual’s moods and thinking in a way that changes how that person relates to other people in society. The functioning of the affected person is also altered and usually results in the person failing to perform some of the daily activities that the person has previously engaged in. Mental illness can be considered a combination of both social and health complications, affecting the social life of the people who fall victim in many ways (Elliott & Huizinga, 2012). There are some health complications that are also experienced with mental disorders. It is also important to note that medical attention forms part of the therapies that try to correct or control this condition. More recently most concern has been on the fact that mental illness is a major social problem in the world (Gonzalez & Rosenheck, 2014).