Mental Illness Persuasive Speech Outline

Major Depression Disorder is common amongst the younger aged college students. According to the American College Health Association, a survey was conducted in 2014 of 80,000 college students at 140 colleges, found that approximately 30 percent of college students reported feeling depressed and having difficulty in functioning within the past year (Iarovici, 2015). “This survey also suggests an increase in the preceding year’s rate of both serious suicidal ideation and suicide attempts: 8% of students in 2014 compared with 6% in 2009 reported serious ideation, and 1.3% attempted suicide, compared with 1.1%” (Iarovici, 2015). It was also reported that many college students tend to self-medicate by drinking excessive amount of alcohol and other

Statistic about how many people view mental illnesses unfavourably. Due to many outside causes mental illness is looked down upon and many incorrect myths are believed about the issue. The prevalence of mental illnesses being portrayed incorrectly in the media has done nothing but damage to the self-esteem of many people suffering from these conditions. This then causes many sufferers to withhold seeking treatment or help because they do not want to be attached to the stigma of mental health

This article speaks about personal and psychological problems college students can face; mostly focusing on family issues, depression, eating disorders, and substance use. It also mentions statistics about college students having mental illnesses and how to get counseling. It ends telling readers about campus services and how they are becoming more common. The article explains how they would be beneficial to students with personal and psychological problems.

Depression, generalized anxiety disorder, eating disorders, etc are more common than one might realize, but they often go unnoticed because of these stigmas. First, I will define mental illness and give you some statistics about mental illness. Second, I will define stigma and tell you about the ways mentally ill people have been stigmatized both in the past and today and why. Finally, I will tell you about some laws that attempt to decrease stigma in the work place and offer suggestions as to how to further decrease stigma.

One of the most common issues that affect college students on campus are mental health conditions, such as stress, anxiety, and depression. In fact, the American College Health Association concluded that almost half of the participants in their 2009 study met the criteria for having a mental disorder (American College Health Association, 2009; as cited by Demyan & Anderson, 2012). The high stress environment that colleges and universities provide students with can lead to unhealthy behaviors that can affect class performance and can allow preexisting mental health conditions to get worse. A student going through a mental health crisis may lose their drive to do well in school, lose their desire to socialize with their friends and peers, and lose their motivation to attend class (Brandy, 2011).

Like physical illnesses, mental illness is on a scale of severity. Although more than roughly 60 million Americans have some form of a mental illness a small amount actually seek or are given treatment. The statistic most often quoted is that one in four adults and one in five children will have a mental health disorder at some point in their lives. (What is Mental Illness? n.d.). The overall stigma that comes along with a mental disorder is still one of the biggest barriers that prevents those from obtaining treatment or retaining their treatment. “While there are over 200 classified forms of mental illness, the five (5) major categories of mental illness are: Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychotic Disorders, Dementias, and Eating Disorders.” (What is Mental Illness? n.d.)

Thesis: Mental health is one of the largest problems students face on a daily basis, and in order to best help them, we need to implement serious and frequent discussions about mental health.

Historically, western society has segregated the mentally ill in hospitals and institutions, resulting in society’s negative association with mental illness. This stigma creates a negative feedback loop in how society views people with psychiatric disabilities. Media portrays people with mental illness as scary, bad, dangerous, unpredictable, and un-educated. These views cause people to shy away and fear the mentally ill. This stigma also affects a person’s willingness to seek help when they are experiencing a mental illness. Some cultures, such as Hispanic Catholics, may not recognize mental illness as a health problem, but instead see it as a religious issue, further reducing the chances of a person seeking proper medical care.

The relationship between public perceptions of mental illness and social stigma of those with these illness is the degree to which stigmatising views can impact on quality of life for those with a mental illness and their drive to seek help. Stigma can result in discrimination and result in a loss of opportunity, power or status. Moreover, the media exasperates prejudice by amplifying the link between mental illness and violence contributing to the common view that those with mental illness are dangerous. When individuals internalise public views on themselves, they may feel shame, become depressed and have the belief that there is not point trying to seek help, resulting in social isolation. (Sheehan et al. 2016) Studies conducted by Pattyn

Mental illnesses affects an estimated 1/10 of the population, but only roughly 30% of those affected seek help[8]. That combined with the fact that suicide is the second leading cause of death in people age 12-18[6] with one person attempting every 16 seconds [1] caused some to question whether these could be prevented. Answering the call was TeenScreen; but it didn’t come without controversy. Teenscreen had an interesting history, and has impacted people for better or for worse, and the didn’t funding didn’t come without a cost.

People who fear those with a mental illness are quick to associate the mentally ill with the words “dangerous” and “crazy” (Smith, Reddy, Foster, Asbury, & Brooks, 2011, p. 45). Negative attitudes and strange behaviors directed towards those who are mentally ill typically lead to more issues for the mentally ill (Hackler, Vogel, & Cornish, 2016, p. 45). For example, a

During the “Change Direction” mental health event, First Lady Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. ... Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” Unfortunately, there is a difference in the way society views mental illness compared to other ailments in the body. Stigma around mental illness has had immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this, one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need (Abrams). This has led to significantly higher suicide rates. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.

In choosing a topic for this final portfolio assignment, I thought of different ideas that I could use to develop my critical thinking skills as well as write about a topic that would be of interest to me. Although I went through a number of topics, I chose to write about mental illness. Mental illness has become a term that has been publicized in the last couple of years and, I feel is most associated with depression or schizophrenia. But there are a number of disorders that fall under the mental illness category, such as anxiety, psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, and dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. In analyzing data and statistical information, we understand the severity of how large mental illness is affecting people in the United States. This, along with understanding how mental illness develops, will allow for mental illness literacy and help remove or at least, ease the stigma of mental illness.

You’re walking down the street, passing hundreds of people as you go. Do you ever stop and think that every single person walking past you has their own story and their own daily struggles? Even the person next to you may have something about themselves that they have never told anyone. A statistic from the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH, stated that in 2010 7.4% of the population had some sort of mental or behavioral disorder. This means that around 510,600,000 people suffered from some form of mental or behavioral disorder in 2010 alone. Now, with all this information we must first ask, what is a mental illness?

Mental illness is a part of every person's life, whether it is themselves that have been affected, a family member, or a coworker. Although mental illness has become more vocalized and open for discussion in society, it still carries a dark stigma that creates fear and breeds anxiety in the general population towards the mentally ill. Lack of understanding and the constant focus of mass and social media continue to hinder society from gaining a true understanding of what mental illness truly is and how it affects each person differently. The daily portrayal of those who commit heinous crimes are often linked with some type of mental illness by media as a form of explanation for the act and this in turn only fuels the fear of the mentally ill. Insinuating that having a mental health issue makes you likely to hurt others (school/mass shooters) or harm yourself(teen/celebrity suicide) is revisited almost every day in the media. While the attention does bring light to mental issues it is almost always shadowed by negative attention that overplays the root cause.