The Bethel Community's Struggle With Mental Illness

Many of those with mental illnesses, disabilities and disorders are met with stigma and excluded from society and lack basic human rights such as food, clothing and shelter. A significant number are also denied rights to vote, marry and have children and discriminated against within the workplace, education and housing. As a result, people with mental illnesses are a vulnerable group and are generally forced into situations of poverty from the lack of treatment or extreme discrimination. In turn, people are forced into situations where they are not able to access the mental care they require in order to cope with their situation and thus, perpetuating a vicious cycle.

People with mental health issues have been viewed and treated in a variety of ways within western society throughout time. Historically if an individual displayed behaviours which disrupted their function in society and defied social norms they were viewed as lunatics, insane or even cursed (Cowan, 2008; Elder & Evans & Nizette, 2009). It is from these past issues that many people still have unreasonable thoughts about mental illness; their misconceptions have created unreasonable fears and negative attitudes toward those who experience it. This negativity brings for many the barriers of not only

Social workers in the mental health wing of the Woodstock General Hospital (WGH) are an integral part of an interdisciplinary mental health team that provide patient-centered care through both inpatient and outpatient services. They offer capacity-building program interventions to individuals, couples and families by providing single session walk-in counselling, groupwork, psychiatric evaluation, crisis intervention and inpatient support as well as long term counselling. There are specialized outpatient supports including early psychosis intervention, programs for eating disorders, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, programs for children and youth as well as programs specific to geriatric mental health. In

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

“A mental disorder (mental illness) is a psychological pattern that is generally associated with a defect or disease of the individual’s mind. It causes a disability that may affect an individual’s behavior patterns in ways that are not part of one’s normal development or culture. Mental disorders are common in the United States. Within any given year, nearly 25 percent of adults and slightly over 20 percent of children are diagnosable for one or more mental disorders. While mental disorder appears to be widespread among the population, the main burden (or threat) emanates from about 6 percent of those who suffer from a debilitating mental illness.” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011)

In the United States people who have a mental illness are often stigmatized by others which causes one to often lose out on many opportunities due to the lack of understanding and education of others as well as experiencing discrimination. Many who live with a mental illness want to work and to provide for themselves, however, due to the stigma that surrounds mental illness portrayed by the

Throughout history people who have a mental health illness are not accepted in society. The attitudes of people in society, for example the workplace, is an important measure of the success of that society. Segregating people with mental illnesses from society, by putting someone in a institute, contributed to the attitude that an individual with mental illness are not capable of participating or contributing in society. These negative stereotypes are often portrayed in media, and influence the stigma of mental health illness being dangerous. This controversial concept of dangerousness states that individuals with a mental illness are more dangerous than those without a mental illness. Various forms of discrimination and exclusion in society is still present today. If society begins to understand mental illness, then they will judge a lot less. Success in that society will come when society accepts other people who are different

Many people suffer from mental health challenges. Often times individuals need a place to go to obtain help both mentally and physically. Mental health problems can affect a significant amount of people. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood (“What is mental health?”, 2013 ). Mental health problems can become prevalent at any stage of life. It is important that those mental health problems be addressed and what better way to address those issues is to reach out to the local community to find those resources that can help assist in emergent and non-emergent mental health care.

Many people dismiss mental illnesses and act as if the person suffering from them can change the way they are feeling solely on “changing their attitude” or outlook on life. In reality, these illnesses are difficult to overcome and the majority of time require hours of therapy and medication, even then sometimes the illness cannot be overcome. The National Alliance on Mental illnesses has taught people that it isn't just a mindset that can sure a mental illness and that there is so much to learn about mental health. It has taught those who know someone suffering that they can help, instead of ignoring the problem suggest they search for professional help. Even those who want to help their friends can’t because they don't know how to, this organization gives them information on how to be a supportive person.

The purpose of this case study is to evaluate an individualized supported housing program that provides stable, long-term housing, and community and clinical support to those living with a mental illness (Muir et al., 2008). This program, called the Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI), is an initiative in New South Wales, Australia (Muir et al., 2008). With the help of health services, housing services, and support agencies, HASI assists those who need support to participate in the community, maintains tenancies, enhances quality of life, and helps in the recovery from mental illness (NSW Health and NSW DoH, 2005 as cited in Muir et al., 2008).

The psychiatric clinical rotation at Clinch Mountain House was a very prodigious experience. This facility is unique because of the role it plays in the community; it serves to provide daily recreation for the members of the community who suffer from mental illnesses. This facility focuses on providing essential social skills to this community and accomplishes this goal by providing social interaction, a structured schedule, and daily assignments for each member.

In our current society there is no love to be held for those who are classified as mentally ill. The mentally ill have become a stigma in our modern day society. When society hears the word mentally ill the unbidden thought of an unhinged man or woman walking down the street talking to themselves or yelling incoherently comes to mind. If they aren’t stereotyped as insane, then the mentally ill are generally seen as awkward, violent, incompetent, or weird. Even without the negative stereotypes, there are some who consider mentally ill people a burden on society simply because they don’t believe mental illnesses are actual diseases. For the people like myself who haven’t had any interactions with the mentally ill, we get our information about mental illness from mass media. The media is of no help to the mentally ill either, though the media may occasionally portray a mentally ill character as quirky or bighearted, they are usually portrayed as insane and coldhearted. The media unintentionally perpetuates the institutionalized fear of the mentally ill. If society is constantly associating metal illness with negative character traits, this can lead to fear and discrimination. Without the help of society backing them up, people with mental illnesses will ignore or disregard them, or not be given the treatment they need. An example of this is evident in Aviv’s article, God Know Where I Am, Linda Bishop ignores the mental illness she has been diagnosed with. Though Linda Bishop

It is there to aid in the prevention and to cure mental illness. Simple right? Not so. There a lot of factors to finding out if there is any chance that you may or may not be suffering from mental illness. One factor is, did the mental illness start due to some trauma or abuse? Abuse could be physical or mental. Some damage is self-inflicted due to drugs and alcohol. Another factor is all about your family. Is there a family history of mental illness? Does it run in the gene pool? An example may be, did a family member become institutionalized due to mental illness?

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

Many people often have stereotypes or stigmas regarding mental illnesses. There is a general public stigma that is overall expressed by people who may not have full knowledge over the importance of mental health. When referring to the stigma, people will usually say that those with mental illnesses are irresponsible, should be cared for, or should be feared and kept out of the direct community. All of these stigmas having to do with mental illnesses are false. Many people with mental illnesses are able to hold stable jobs, graduate from high school and college, and even live as good neighbors in a community. By creating this stigma, people are adding to the everyday challenges that people with mental illnesses are going through. We should aim to educate and stop the prejudice that is brought about by those who are not fully aware of the importance of mental health.