| I thoroughly amazed my teenage son the other day | | | | Association, regarding people's understandings of the |
| with my keen insight, which is a worthwhile experience | | | | causes for mental illness, reveals a stronghold of |
| by itself. I would cherish it for a moment, but between | | | | incorrect beliefs. Seventy-one percent of those |
| you and me, it really wasn't that difficult. | | | | surveyed hold that mental illness is caused by some |
| It was a typical, mid-week evening in our home when | | | | "emotional weakness;" 65% blame it on bad parenting, |
| the television remote happened to settle on a channel | | | | and 43% believe the individual caused the illness him or |
| with some sort of action: unfortunate victims had been | | | | herself (dupagehealth.org). |
| horribly mutilated, and their bodies were buried in an | | | | The website for the National Mental Health |
| unusual, reoccurring pattern. | | | | Awareness Campaign states that "our society tends |
| Less than a minute's viewing was enough for me to | | | | to not give the same acceptance to brain disorders as |
| predict the show's conclusion. "Watch," I said to my | | | | we do to other organ disorders, say, heart trouble. The |
| son. "The detectives will go through all kinds of | | | | stigma surrounding these misunderstandings can limit |
| scenarios in order to find the culprit only to realize at | | | | opportunities, it can stand in the way of a new job, it |
| the end that he is a deranged psychopath who could | | | | can increase feelings of loneliness, and it can cause |
| not control himself. They will figure it out, but it will be | | | | many other unfortunate outcomes." |
| too late to keep him from killing himself." | | | | Lori Spears, a Substance Abuse Counselor for |
| My son's face showed unbelief. "How could you know | | | | Community Counseling Services, reported she still |
| that?" | | | | hears others make the off-hand remark that "the |
| I simply encouraged him to test my prediction. And, to | | | | people who come here are crazy." Spears explained |
| his amazement, the show followed my words to the | | | | how people can fear "that once they come in and get |
| letter. There may be some future benefit in letting my | | | | treatment, they will be labeled forever." |
| son believe that his father has such rich, deep insight. | | | | She described how this reaction to a stigma of |
| However, I am sure the reader already knows my | | | | receiving mental health treatment can lead some "not |
| secret. | | | | to realize how severe it is because they have hidden it |
| Hollywood refuses to let go of its reliable crutch of | | | | for so long." |
| "stereotyping." | | | | Spears then countered with her experience. "We see |
| Old habits are hard to break, but that can be no | | | | it every day. People get the tools and the skills they |
| excuse for maintaining old habits, especially if they are | | | | need, and then they move on." Yet, even at this point, |
| wrong. We may nurse bad habits along simply | | | | we will not have put away the stereotyping of |
| because we have not tried replacing them with | | | | persons with mental illness until we replace |
| something positive. It is these habits of stereotyping | | | | misinformation with the truth, and with positive action. |
| that must be examined, especially when they fly in the | | | | Realizing that most mental illnesses, just like most |
| face of scientific evidence. | | | | physical illnesses, can be remedied with proper |
| The National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI) | | | | treatment, we can begin by making others aware of |
| issued a rebuff of the entertainment industry's pattern | | | | the harmful stereotypes, and we can encourage those |
| of showing "persons with brain disorders as being | | | | needing help to access available resources. |
| prone to violence," renaming these depictions more | | | | "If you know someone that seems extremely upset, |
| accurately as "hurtful stereotypes." NAMI then corrects | | | | maybe someone who displays extreme mood |
| the record. "The truth is that persons with brain | | | | changes, or maybe even you, yourself, feel emotionally |
| disorders are more often the victims of violence" | | | | out of place at times, the time is now to act, help, |
| (mental-health-today.com/stigma). | | | | assist, notify, inform and get better" (nostigma.org |
| Perhaps the larger problem lies in the recognition that, | | | | stigma). |
| at least in this instance, the writers are simply reflecting | | | | Only with positive actions such as these can we hope |
| a widely held societal belief. | | | | to put away the stigma. |
| A recent survey by the National Mental Health | | | | |