The Stigma Of Receiving Therapy For Mental Illness

The disparity in treatment has been attempted to be remedied over the eras. Bills and Acts put into place in the 20th and 21st centuries have seeked to improve care and reduce stigma around those with mental illness. This began in 1942, when Harry Truman signed the National Mental Health Act, which requested the formation of a National Institute of Mental Health. Shortly after this, in 1949, the National Institute of Mental Health was established (“National Institute of Mental Health”). During the company’s 60 year lifespan they have focused on research about mental illness, educating the public, and improving the lives of the mentally ill by working to pass laws. One law that seeks to reduce the stigma of mental illness is the Mental Healths Service Act of California. "California 's Historic Effort To Reduce The Stigma Of Mental Illness: The Mental Health Services Act" from the American Journal Of Public Health illustrates how the Act will make improvements. Families and individuals who have experienced stigma had a big role in the process, specifically with developing a 10 year plan, the California Strategic Plan on Reducing Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination. One component of the Act discussed is the work plan developed by California Mental Health Services Authority, which has three components: stigma and discrimination reduction, student mental health, and suicide prevention. Organizations such as the NIMH have made efforts resulting in the evolution of mental

7. Lt Col Chris Karns, "Eliminating Stigma: A Leadership Responsibility," U.S. Air Force, 02 September 2014,

To many a stigma is a disgraceful flaw, that of a negative presence. In mental health this stigma is overwhelming. Approximately 57.7 million Americans experience a mental health disorder in any given year. (National Alliance on Mental Illness) People in dire need of help are not seeking it. Mental illnesses are going undiagnosed. The mental health stigma is having a negative impact on the proper diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses.

The majority of people that have a severe mental illness are object to challenges in double measure. From one point of view, they wrestle with the symptoms and disablement that result from the illness. From another point, they are tested by the stereotypes and preconceived ideas that stem from the misunderstandings about mental illness. As a culmination of both, people with a mental illness are stripped of the chances that define a quality life such as a good job, safe housing, adequate health care, and a connection with a varied group of people. Although research has gone a long way to understand the affect of the disease, it only recently has begun to explain the stigma of mental illness (Corrigan). The lives of people who are living with a mental illness are many times drastically adjusted by the symptoms of the illness and everyone’s response to them. While symptoms can normally be diminished by a number of actions, the intrinsic stigma and prejudice that comes with mental illness may continue on for a lifetime and can manifest themselves in a number of understated and non-understated ways. Normally, when one thinks of a stigma, they think of disgrace that is associated with a particular event, circumstance, or occasion. People with a mental illness are most often branded as an effect of their behavior, appearance, therapy, their economic status, and also the negative depictions in the media of the mental illnesses. People with a mental illness often have a “stereotype

There are still many societies that view people with mental health problems as threatening or unstable. These attitudes often cause stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems. Many people who make these assumptions about people with mental health problems are often uneducated. Social workers today educate and help families that may may be struggling with this disease. Mental health disorders affect different people and are more prone to exist in areas where help can be found or is not affordable. Mental health disorders are often frowned upon by people because they do not understand it. Many people live throughout their lives not getting the help they need because of stigma on this topic. As a society Mental health diseases should be identified as problem that can be fixed and not be an identification for the person it is affecting.

Until recently, few health insurance plans provided coverage for mental health services to the same extent as physical health services, if they were covered at all. The reasons for the discrimination in health insurance vary, but mental illnesses historically have not been well understood by the public, and people have had a hard time understanding that mental illnesses are biologically based diseases that affect the mind and body just like any other disease that has solely physical manifestations. A stigma is said to occur when people view something in a negative way because of a distinguishing characteristic or trait that is thought to be, or is, a disadvantage. The stigma surrounding mental illness has led to direct and obvious discrimination and one of its results, and the focus of this paper, is the discrimination to the mentally ill and mentally infirm by not providing health insurance that adequately covers mental illness diagnosis and treatments. Despite the progress of mental health parity legislation, the passing of the ACA and the advances in mental health research that have revealed that mental illnesses are biologically based, a stigma still remains around individuals with mental illnesses, that has led to exemptions, road-blocking the goal of full parity. This paper demonstrateS that while advances in the availability of private insurance coverage for those with mental illnesses has improved, there are still loopholes that private insurance

So how do we eliminate the stigma on mental illness that has been shaped and formed fo1r centuries? Now that we know the role mental health plays in our society and how it affects people who suffer from it. We must find a way to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with this term. I propose the first step to solving this issue is through the media education and information. The media, from new to movies, plays a crucial role in shaping the minds of young people and even adults. Media has probably been one the most influential tools is creating the stigma and so maybe we can use the same tools to undo the stigmatization. The media often displays mental illness unfavorably because the news always broadcasts violent individual with an extreme case of the disorder as a representation of every one in the mentally ill community. Even in movies and crime TV shows, the person will the mental illness is cast as an antagonist a few example of this are Batman and possibly every single episode in the show Criminal Minds. This portrays with mental illness in an incriminating fashion, but studies show that majority of the patient are more harmful to themselves than they are to others. Using the media to campaign and voice the truth about the mentally ill will help a little to de-stigmatize these individuals. Educating the public is only one step to a solution, just raising awareness will not completely stop the stigma (Byrne). Since some people with the most knowledge on mental

People suffering from mental illness and other problems are often the most discriminated, socially excluded, stigmatized, and vulnerable members of the society. They have to constantly struggle and face a double problem. Firstly, they have to struggle with the symptoms of the mental illness itself. They may face with problems such as illusions, delusions, hallucinations and other symptoms, which depend on a particular mental disorder. These symptoms do not allow the person to live a satisfactory life. They do not allow the person to work and independently achieve something in their life. And secondly, they are challenged by several stereotypes and prejudices, which gradually result in many misconceptions about mental illness known as “stigma”. Therefore, mental illness results not only in the difficulties arising from the symptoms of the disorder but also in the negative attitudes and beliefs that motivates the people to fear, reject, avoid and exclusion of people with mental illness. Some people with mental illness could lose self confidence, accept the prejudices and may also turn them against themselves. This is referred to as ‘self-stigma’, loosening the confidence of the person suffering with mental illness.

The media shows individuals as homeless, crying, dirty, and unintelligent and then puts the label of mental illness to it. Due to this portrayal of mental illness, many American’s have a negative picture in their minds about individuals who have a mental illness. The negative stigma may be because they have not known anyone with mental illness. Individuals may remember a time when mental illness was thought of as the person going insane which is a scary thought for some people. The speaker we had in class painted a picture of her neighbor in a padded room naked with a bucket (Patty S. 2016). This scenario is what comes to the mind of many who think of mental illness. Lack of information and education is the usual culprit for those who believe that mental illness only means insanity and unbearable life conditions.

As a practicing Certified Nursing Assistant (C.N.A) for almost ten years, I have encountered vast patient population. There are times where my assignment consist of just watching one patient for the whole 8-hour shift. The reports I tend to get from the previous shift is that patient is “crazy”, “handful” and “you are going to have a bad day”, it got me thinking of my upcoming shift, perhaps not going to be a good one. I have developed my own ways of caring for mentally ill population. As I have researched the internet I have found information regarding mental healthcare where in where it is stigmatized, and to stop this stigma in healthcare training must start early.

When society hears the words mental disorder, the first thing that pops into their minds is Schizophrenia and Bipolar. One disorder that you may not have heard about is Trichotillomania. Trichotillomania, defined by Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary is “ A morbid impulse to pull out one’s own hair; trichologia”, (Saunders, W.B, pg 1395). People with this disorder have a tendency to pull out their own hair. It’s a long-term disorder. Young kids can get this disorder, both boys and girls. Adults can also get this disorder at any age, but it is mostly found in women instead of men.

According to the National Alliance of Mental Health, 1 in 5 adults in the United States of America experience mental illness in a given year (NAMI, 2017). Out of those adults, not all will seek out mental health services. If there are services in the community being offered, why are the services not utilized more often by these individuals? There may be many barriers that prevent these individual to seek out services. One of these barriers may include being labeled; another barrier may be being treating differently because of the illness. To fully understand what a mental illness is one has to understand the definition of

Rivers, a 19-year-old from Harrisville, Rhode Island who works in a local restaurant, has struggled with the impulse control disorder known as trichotillomania, the urge to pull out one’s own hair. Trichotillomania, often referred to as trich or TTM, was first documented by the French dermatologist, Francois Henri Hallopeau over 100 years ago and derives from the Greek words, “trich” (hair), “tillo” (to pull) and “mania” (impulse).

The Stigma on Mental Health is an issue I strive to expose daily. I was raised by a parent who suffers from mental health and addictions issues and then had a child with someone with similar issues. More recently I have witnessed my best friend struggle to find support for her eight year old son who has a complex clinical profile. Watching so many people I love struggle daily to receive support and basic empathy, I feel I have become somewhat of an expert on the effects of stigma on mental health . The Agency I will be discussing my critical research on is East Metro Youth Services. I have chosen to write my paper on an agency that focuses children and youth with mental health needs . After researching the various demographics of sufferers I realized children and youth are often undertreated and underdiagnosed. Canada has a two tier health care system which means, often times poor Canadians do not receive adequate treatment and diagnosis. Statistics shows that “70% of mental health problems have their onset during early childhood or adolescence” (Government of Canada, 2006, The human face of Mental Health and Mental Illness in Canada). It is important as a Social Service Worker that I use my personal experience to help advocate and address the issues and needs of children and youth in order to prevent unnecessary suffering for children, youth and families dealing with mental health and addictions issues.

A term which is not only being misused nowadays, but also thrown around very casually in everyday conversation : Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This disorder has been broken down into two forms : Obsessions and Compulsions. Obsessions are the recurrent thoughts that cause disturbance to the victim's thought process. On the other hand, compulsions are the uncontrollable desires to perform certain functions. By performing these tasks, the victim is able to get rid of the thought that mentally disturbing.“A mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning,” (The New Definition of a Mental Disorder) according to the DSM-V. An example of such a disorder is O.C.D. or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Victims of this disorder are trapped in cycles of unfavorable thoughts and have impulsive and involuntary desires to perform series of actions. This is done to break a chain of disturbing thoughts. After reading this article, I infer that mental disorders are avoidance mechanisms, a way to escape from life’s issues.