Persuasive Essay : Mental Illness Stigma

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.

There is a huge issue everyone need to be more aware of. Suicide is more than just a mental health issue and we can do something about it. Teen suicide is an epidemic happening all around us. It can happen from substance abuse. Trauma from losing a loved one or seeing an accident occur. Also depression leads to suicidal thoughts. Therapy can be used in helping reverse the symptoms or even prevent them from happening.

“Nearly 5 million children in the U.S. have some type of mental illness” (Goldberg). It is agreeable that there are many young children that deal with mental illness every day. Schools should be concerned for every student’s well being. Moreover, mental health is a part of a person’s overall “well being.” Therefore, schools need to make the mental health of students a stronger focus and implement plans to keep students mentally well and educated. To help create a positive, mental health aware environment where students feel open to seek help, high school students should be educated on how to be mentally healthy, be given a safe place to seek help, and be encouraged to monitor and maintain their mental health. Mental illness and mental health care need to be a more eminent priority in our society, starting with high schools.

Furthermore, tremendous advances have been made in the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses in the recent decades. Nowadays, someone with a mental illness is treated with respect, just like every other person, because, in fact, everyone is equal. Society’s goals today are to treat and support the mentally ill individuals enough so they can live in

Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at

Mental illness stigma is associated with negative health and social outcomes for persons with mental illness (Clement et al., 2015; Corrigan, 2004; Corrigan, Druss, & Perlick, 2014; Markowitz, 1998; Rosenfield, 1997). This literature review examines the different types of stigma, the impact of stigma on persons with mental illness and recent research on community levels of mental illness stigma.

Throughout history people with mental illnesses were considered to be weird, strange, a witch, or even possessed up until now. So many people have fought for the rights of these people to be considered normal and welcomed. Still, many other people around the world do not agree with this. It’s not fair for the people who are considered “different” to be left out and almost completely thrown to the curb with little to no sympathy. Many of them try to commit suicide to get rid of all the pain and suffering, but others help them get back up and help them realize that their life is not worth throwing away. Even though some of these issues have been resolved, people need to be more aware about some of these mental illnesses and the research scientists are doing to help them.

How society responds to mental illnesses is mainly influenced by the amount of knowledge they have regarding mental disorders (Hinshaw, 2007, p. 7). Thus “the way in which mental disorders is defined has major implications for social responses” (Hinshaw, 2007, p. 7). People who suffer from mental illness have different behaviors than others; as a result, people in society

Stigma has been one of the things that makes it very difficult for help or support to come even near the person involved. People experiencing the mental illness stigma may feel isolated and this can lead to loss of hope and a relapse, or worsening, f their condition. Through this isolation, the support and help will feel a barrier between them and the person who have the stigma. Mental illness stigma can lead the people to denying for housing and accommodation because he thinks he is a nuisance for the world and it does not need him, refusing employment because he thinks he is not worthy of anything and thinks that everything will fall apart because of him, discrimination against workplace because persons with mental illness stigma will make

According to Scientific American Mind, mental illnesses are so common that almost everyone will develop at least one diagnosable mental disorder at some point in their life; most of these people will never receive treatment, and their relationships, job performance and life satisfaction will likely suffer (Reuben and Schaefer, 2017). Mental health is different from the absence of mental illness, and is integral to our overall health. Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual “realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his own community” (World Health Organization, 2007). The stigmatization against mental illness often results in the ostracizing and demonizing of sufferers. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome when seeking help is that society still doesn’t think about it as an equal priority with physical health. Addressing mental health is needed because the stigmatization and discrimination contribute to higher risks of mental illness.

Now more than ever, we are all traveling at a million miles a minute, in the fast paced environment we call normal. We are multitasking more often, thinking about what is for dinner later while we are at work and trying to be as efficient as possible. Staying up late overthinking and worrying has become more and more common. Never pausing for a moment to take a breath and let our brains turn off. This can lead to multiple mental health issues such as depression and uncontrollable anger. Enabling yourself to be able to change perspectives in any given situation and analyze things from a different points of view, is called mindfulness (2).

The world has come a long way in understanding mental disorders, but even in today’s society they are still not treated the same way as physical disorders. It is true we are no longer killing people for having a mental disorder because of the belief it is a demon possessing them, but we still have a long way to go in correcting how we still treat those with these disorders. The two have their differences, but mental and physical disorders are equal in how they are both illnesses deserving the same respect and treatment.

Mental health, like many people I struggle with mental illness.Last year after the death of my Godmother I officially was diagnosed with severe depression, two impulsive and a social anxiety disorder.My journey has been long, confusing and a constant struggle even knowing many people can relate. Although a constant topic in the media, it remains taboo and many people are unaware of what to do when faced with mental health issues.The following is a series of steps to help and also a guide for those that need help dealing with a loved one or friend who suffers from these issues.

In the old days, they were punished because of a belief that marked them by the gods as damned. In the old days, they were tortured and killed for reasons that most were born with. It is something that will be found in this race for as long as humans exist, so how dare the people treat it this way. One in five Americans suffer from varying mental illnesses. One in five Americans fight their mind every second of their waking days. And their reward, to rot away in hospitals and asylums meant to help. All across the world mental patients are mistreated by being denied the gentle care they need, or not being able to reach it because of finances and distance. For this reason, they starve on the streets, they commit terrible crimes that never should have happened because in most cases… they could be easily prevented. Mental caretakers need to start putting the patient first, they need to treat them for their unique needs and keep them off the streets.

“Approximately one in 25 adults in the U.S.-9.8 million-experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities”(Nami). Under those circumstances, without attentive care early on as a child grows older an illness can develop to be a greater harm to themselves and others and become counterproductive in their lives and community. Medical treatment like psychotherapy, which is a type of treatment containing behavior therapy and humanistic therapy, has been shown to eliminate patients’ risks of violence(Maxwell). Once a patient is diagnosed with a serious mental disorder “especially those who have behaved dangerously, should not be allowed to become ill in the community to the extent that they pose a risk to themselves or others(Coid).” Once patients stop receiving facilitated care, oftentimes the intake of medications cease and can cause dangerous situations with the law sometimes resulting in jail time.(The Editorial Board). Patients are thrown in jail without a dismay of the person’s well-being. With this in mind, to effectively deal with the crime rate you must “extend the public health system into jails and prisons, which takes in the poorest and the most illness-prone people in society.”(The New York Time; Mental Illness, Untreated Behind Bars). Since treatment eliminates their violent attributes, “Severely mentally ill individuals who are taking their medication are NOT more dangerous than the