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Mental Health stigma hurts, is unfair and leads to housing,employment discrimination.
By Lynda Appell of Chestnut Place
It was earlier today, 06/23/09 I happened to grab a cheese sandwich at a local cheap eatery. Okay what does to do with my piece here? Well as I was eating my meal, the "Judge Alex" television show was on the TV. A brief summary of the broadcast is Judge Alex resides over law suits with plaintiffs vs defendants. A plaintiff is the person with the complaint. The defendant is the individual who is being complained about.
While this was not the first time I saw the series. It was this time I heard the judge ask a women defendant "Are you on medication? I understand he was referring to her behavior. She was basically a freeloader.
However to me there is a much larger problem here. I am a mental health advocate. Personally I am successfully being treated for a mood disorder. There was much mixed feelings revealing this about me. On the one hand I feel I risk insensitive remarks, results. Conversely I think this fact is relevant to my writing here. The question are you on medication was to me, clearly a referral to mental illness. Can you imagine Judge Alex asking that same inquiry for a person taking meds for a physical illness? It seems its okay to make fun of psychiatric disorder. Technically psych.illnesses are physical since they effect the brain, a physical organ. The general public perception is mental disorders are disorders of behavior, and or mood. Ergo they don't deserve the sympathy of what most people perceive as physical illnesses. People with mental illnesses are merely feeling sorry for themselves, being lazy, or prone to violence. I believe this last phrase prone to violence or perhaps I should say the perception of being prone of violence leads to much of stigma concerning these illnesses. It seems that many people with these conditions are either feared or jeered and quite commonly both. Richard A. Friedman MD wrote in the 11/16/2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that treated people with serious mental illnesses are no more prone to violence than the general population. The key word here is treatment. The NEJM is one of the most respected, prestigious medical publications in the US. It is highly praised by MDs, DOs. Zalman Agus, psychiatric professor U. of Penn. MD school wrote in Feb 2, 2009 mental illness by itself isn't necessarily a predictor of dangerous behavior. The use of illegal drugs and the misuse of legit prescriptions with a psychiatric diagnosis is a much better predictor of violence The unfair overgeneralization and misperception that most of the mentally ill are dangerous I think, leads to stigma and discrimination. I suspect too its much easier to understand, empathize with a disorder with visable physical symptoms. Mental illnesss manifests itself mostly be behavior and/or mood. In other words it shows itself by what somebody says or does. Persons with psychiatric disorders are quite capable of dealing rationally with their life situations. Please note since I am not a mental health professional I can't decide what treatments are needed. I do know when properly treated, mentally ill people can function. Even, without treatment, the most psychotic individual can and does think rationally at times. For example I recall riding on the bus a few years ago. The man next to me showed clear signs of psychosis. He was constantly mumbling to himself, ramblings that made sense only to himself. He seemed to competely oblivious to everyone there including me. I was sitting in the window seat. He was beside me. I was worried I couldn't communicate with him, when I needed to get off. When it was my stop, by force of habit I pulled the cord signaling the bus driver. As I did so, the man got up and politely wished me a good day. There are self help, support groups, voc rehab sites where people with psychiatric disorders are successfully learning how to deal with their diseases and become contributors to society. Fountain House club house in New York City and its offshoots in practically every state of the US are such places where mental health consumers, mental health system people are showing when treated with the right meds therapy, etc are proving they are capable of helping themselves be a part of society. Brief note, club houses are definitely not a place to play games as in a child's club house. They are organizations where everyone are equally members. That is staff members and client members. Everybody enjoys an equal voice in running the operation. These facilities train consumers in various occupations such as clerical, hospitality, Librarian, and mental health advocacy. The members as a whole decide how the club house is run. "The U.S. Surgeon General has reported that the likelihood of violence by people with mental illness is low. In fact, "the overall contribution of mental disorders to the total level of violence in society is exceptionally small." More often, people living with mental illness are the victims of violence "2007 Source National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. The largest mental health advocacy group in the US.
So when mental health consumers/psychiatric survivors are cruelly teased for taking their meds and jeered for not taking their Rxs I feel its a no win situation. Its damn if you and damn if one doesn't. To paraphrase Freud. "What to normies want? What is needed is community support, families, unless dysfunctional and last but not least professional help.
I remember some years ago, the then president of the American Psychiatric Assn. Paul Fink MD said when it comes to an employment application, he urged lying regarding one's mental illness. People with psychiatric disorders suffer not only from the disorder but stigma as well. Stigma can lead to shame of being diagnosed. Shame can lead to reluctance to get treatment. Perhaps this is the worst part of stigma. |
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