Oppression Of Mental Illness In The United States

“It is common that the media will associate mental illnesses with fear…The explanation may lie in negative stereotypes of people with mental illnesses as dangerous and unpredictably violent, thus making them ‘scary.’ Our brain’s natural tendency to confirm negative stereotypes ingrains this myth in our minds.”

This essay will look at the public understanding of the nature of mental disorder and to what extent it is associated with dangerousness and violence. The essay will begin by exploring the public’s perspectives and opinions on the matter and the impact that the mentally ill have on crime rates. Specific social perspectives will also be explored..

Historically, society has believed that people with mental disorders tend to be more violent than normal people, creating a stigma for patients. They thought that a mentally ill person tends to cause harm and chaos which was difficult for this person to deal with. In fact, research suggests that public opinions on the relationship between mental illness and violence do not reflect reality, although some people with psychiatric disorders commit violent crimes, it was not really clear about how much mental illness or substance abuse affect violent behaviour. Media had a great effect on people by making them think that the mentally ill are violent which was proved to be a myth, as they are more likely to be victims than offenders.

Mental illness is an issue that impacts all prison systems throughout the United States. The wellbeing of inmates is a long debated issue. There is much improvement that can be done in the prison systems to help rehabilitate and treat inmates while they are incarcerated to better prepare them for a successful reintegration into society. An examination of the current rehabilitation and treatment programs for inmates diagnosed with psychological illness will assist in identifying failures in within the program. Proper implementation of these services can improve an inmate’s chance of successfully reintegrating into society after incarceration and ultimately lower the cost of running a government funded prison. This essay will cover the prominence of mental illness in prison, drug treatment programs that are used to address mental illness in the prison system, continue assistance or continuation of programs for released inmates, the opportunities that exist for rehabilitation, and a proposal for a rehabilitation program. The purpose of the research is aimed at improving the circumstances of the inmates to receive assistance while incarcerated that they may not receive while free.

Crazies, loonies, insane, disabled, idiots, nuts, and schizos are just some of the many derogatory terms used to refer to the mentally ill. Mental illness is pushed under the rug and is considered a taboo subject in today’s world. Many think that since you cannot physically see psychiatric disorders, they are not real. Some believe people claim to have a mental illness so they can act out or not take responsibilities for one’s actions. So, even though we as a society are at the height of our research of mental illnesses and now know more than before, why do we still ignore it? Why do we not take it seriously? Sadly many, many people have been affected by the lack of communication concerning mental illness, its causes, and treatment. One of

Conversations associating mental illness with extreme cases of violence have become, and continue to become, more and popular in the United States of America. Many people across the nation, and even in other countries around the world, are demanding answers to an outstanding number of questions. Why did these tragic events occur? Why do these tragic events continue to occur? Why is it that whenever a mass shooting occurs the suspect claims insanity? What is insanity? Are they telling the truth or is it just a cover up? Does mental illness really cause crime? There are so many questions all with varying supplementary scenarios however, I will focus on my belief that although mental illness does not cause crime and violence, it does contribute to it. I believe that the first and most important problem in this controversy is the lack of understanding what both mental illness and crime is. Robert Schug refers to both terms as “umbrella terms” in Stacy Mallicoat’s Crime and Criminal Justice: Concepts and Controversies (2016). Mental illness consists of numerous complex conditions that alters one’s state of mind with ranging severities and crime consists of varying levels of behaviors and actions that are against the law.

In many movies and television shows, mentally ill patients are portrayed as dangerous, and, as a result, are bound to the negative way they are conveyed, even outside of the media. According to the Mental Health American, “characters in prime time television portrayed as having a mental illness are depicted as the most dangerous of all demographic groups; sixty percent were shown to be involved in crime or violence.” As generations today are growing up engulfed in technology, the stereotypes demonstrated through this medium are likely to be believed, leaving the mentally ill to escape this horrible fallacy. In reality, the majority of people with mental illness are not violent. The Institute of Medicine states “the contribution of people with mental illnesses to overall rates of violence is small, and further, the magnitude of the relationship is greatly exaggerated in the minds of the general population.” It is also common to associate those with mental illness as being the perpetrators of a violent crime, rather than the victim; however, “people with psychiatric disabilities…are two and a half times more likely to be attacked, raped, or mugged than the general population” (Mental Health Reporting). Furthermore, with the increase in the use of technology, mentally ill patients continue to be illustrated as monsters that lack the moral of a “normal” human, which

I truly see the person for who they are instead of their diagnosis. Individuals with a mental illness are at times very aware of what other people are thinking of them. Per the Mayo Clinic website, harmful effects of the stigma of mental illness could be bullying, lack of understanding by loved ones, fewer opportunities to work or activities, and reluctance to seek medical help (Mayo Clinic, 2014).

It is easier to ignore than admit than to acknowledge a nasty flaw in the fabric of our otherwise-productive community. If the mentally ill are not able to be function adequately, it is unhealthy for the entire society. If more members of the population had the agency to speak out, social forces would move politicians to act. (Lucas, Milkie & Rohall, 2014, pg. 28)

What does mental illness look like? Is it the “weird” kid at your school that everyone bullies? Or maybe the latest hair-raising movie about a psycho killer? Mental illness is constantly construed and made to seem dangerous, unnatural, and sickening. Mental illness, as defined by Mayo Clinic, is simply a “disorder that affects your mood, thinking, and behavior”(). These people, who live with mental health issues, including one out of ten teens and one out of five adults, are often treated as if it is their own fault that they are different(). From uncharged jailing to not being able to choose what is best for them to plain everyday interaction, persons with mental illness are ostracized and treated unfairly. As a country, we are failing our

Society’s views about the mentally ill have helped shape the criminalization of their every move. On any day there are around 283,000 people with severe mental illness currently incarcerated in federal and state prisons. In contrast, there are around only 70,000 mentally ill in psychiatric hospitals

The ones that fear it specifically. There are those that completely disbelieve the concept of being mentally ill and there are those that fear the mentally ill, which is the greater of two evils? Against all that Hollywood may make you believe, violence is not all that common amongst those that have mental illnesses. In the United Kingdom, there have been reports of over 1,200 deaths caused by mental illness between 2005 and 2015, 97% of these deaths being the result of suicide. People with severe mental illness reportedly are over ten times as likely to be the victims of violent crimes than non-mentally ill population. Instead of assuming that someone who is mentally ill is some monster that is incapable of living in the civil world, consider what can be done to not only help anyone seeking treatment but to lessen the number of mentally ill people that become victims of firearm, domestic, and hate crime violence. Now obviously there is a small percentage of people with mental illness that can actually be a danger in certain circumstances just keep in mind that these people may be going through a psychotic episode and might not actually be acting of their own conscious will, if someone is in danger to themselves or to others it is crucial that the proper authorities are contacted even if for a wellness check. The decisions of whether or not someone may need to stay in a mental institution for a while should be decided

Public segregation, poor housing, unemployment, and poverty are all linked to mental ill health. So stigma and discrimination can trap an individual in a rotation of illness. The media makes the situation worse because the media often make reports stating that individuals with mental illness are violence, or describe individuals who are abnormal as dangerous, criminal, malicious, or very disabled and unable to live a normal life; which is not the case. It has been proven through research that the best way to challenge these stereotypes is through direct interaction with individuals with knowledge of mental health problems (Stigma and discrimination,

As mentioned by Howitt (2015), a mental illness can be defined as ‘a variety of psychological conditions in which there is a characteristic disabling and distressing impairment in some aspect of the psychological functioning of the individual.’ However, not all mental illnesses are found to be at risk of violent offending. Such illnesses as anxiety and depression are found to be less violent than mental health problems such as bipolar and schizophrenia, both of which will be included in the subset of mental health problems recognised as violent for the purpose of this essay. The relationship that has been identified between mental illness and crime has the ability to be misconceived through misclassification of violent mentally ill offenders and a variety of factors which have the ability to cloud the evidence of the

“People with mental health problems are almost never dangerous. In fact, they are more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators. At the same time, mental illness has been the common denominator in one act of mass violence after another” (Blunt). Those under some sort of mental illness often commit their crimes under the influence of that illness and are not aware of what they are doing. There are cases in which they do not receive the proper health during sentencing and affects them in the long run, or they have been imprisoned and let out without being provided with the proper help. This ends with them committing acts that are worse than what they committed before. The psychological situation for a criminal is an essential component