Mental health
matters in everyone’s life despite society's negative images
By Joan Turner, R.N.
As a society, we are bombarded with negative images of people with mental
illnesses. The media and entertainment industries overwhelmingly present
people with mental illnesses as dangerous, violent and unpredictable
individuals. Pathways Center for Behavioral and Developmental Growth
asks your help in overcoming this negative stigma.
Television comedies make fun of dysfunctional families labeled with
psychiatric diagnoses. Halloween costumes and music videos use old-fashioned
straight jackets to portray mental patients. These and many other instances
are not only inappropriate but also insensitive to the millions of children
and adults with mental illnesses in this country.
One in five individuals will suffer a severe mental illness during their
lifetime. One of the most common reasons for hospital emergency room
treatment is depression, a common mental illness.
These inaccurate and unfair portrayals shape the public’s perception
of those who suffer from mental disorders as people to be feared
and avoided.
This stigma has tragic consequences. Many people with mental health
problems fail to seek treatment because of the shame associated with
their illness. And most will experience some form of discrimination,
whether in the workplace, health insurance plans or social settings.
Children learn from a very early age that psychiatric problems are seen
as failures of character and will and that those who admit to such problems
or receive psychiatric treatment are likely to be avoided and looked
down upon by their peers. Even second- and third-graders appear to have
already assimilated the idea that people with mental illnesses are to
be viewed less favorably than others.
From where do these negative views come? Most often, the attitudes
and behaviors of adults influence them. Children are witnesses to disparaging
references of those who are disliked or who have divergent opinions
as "crazy," "nuts" or "insane." Children
hear adults complain about people driving "like madmen" or
behaving "like lunatics" when they are upset. Children are
aware of the hushed and embarrassed tones used by adults when referring
to relatives who have undergone psychiatric treatment. In other words,
children learn easily that it is bad to be associated with labels that
indicate a psychiatric problem.
As Tipper Gore observed in a May 1999 Time magazine article: "If
we are serious about stopping the violence and helping our children,
adults need to erase the stigma that prevents our kids from getting
the help they need for their mental health."
Both children and adults can overcome these negative attitudes through
education and understanding of mental illness. We would like to remind
everyone that mental health problems are real, common and treatable.
At Pathways Center for Behavioral and Developmental Growth we are
working every day to live up to this year’s theme: "Mental Health Matters
in your life." Thank you for joining us in this effort.
(Joan Turner is executive director of Pathways Center for Behavioral
and Developmental Growth is a human services agency providing services
annually to some 6,000 persons with mental health issues, developmental
disabilities and addictive diseases in Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Meriwether
and Troup Counties. For services call 1-888-247-9048.)
