Many individuals with mental illness have great difficulty being accepted by the larger community because they are being stereotyped, put down and stigmatized for having a mental health condition. The stigma sets in when society develops misconceptions based on misinformation of those with mental illness. Misinformation stems from three areas: the media, informal communication and society seeing those with mental illness.
- The media play a big role in misguiding society about mental illness. They portray individuals with mental illness in characteristically inaccurate and unfavorable ways. Those with mental illness are depicted as being active, confused, aggressive, dangerous and unpredictable.
- Informal communication hurts those with mental illness because people feel free to use words such as “loony,” “nuts,” “crazy,” “batty,” “wacko,” “psycho” and “mental case” in normal conversation.
- Finally, stigma is formed by those in society who witness or interact with those who have a mental illness. Most mental illnesses are not visible to the public, but the mental illnesses that are visible are seen in individuals who are experiencing psychosis or mania. This is how society gets images of those with mental illness.
Those with mental illness have difficulty with employment, housing and receiving a sufficient amount of income to meet daily needs. This leads to loss of social opportunities and a poor quality of life. During this Mental Illness Awareness Week, may we be mindful of our bias and stereotypes and not contribute to the stigma associated with mental illness.
by: DENNIS CORNELL, Licensed Clinical, Social Worker/Psychotherapist, Louisville
Cornell, Dennis. "Reject stereotypes about mental illness." courier-journal.com. 13 Oct. 2009
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