Mental Illness In The Media

Much of our opinions are shaped by what we hear on the radio, what we watch on television and in the movies, and what we read in the newspaper and in magazines. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation conducted a survey in which the majority of respondents said that the mass media was their main source of information about mental illness. Unfortunately, the picture of mental illness that the mass media paints is very rarely an accurate one. This leads individuals to fear individuals living with a mental illness and discriminate against them.

Society possesses false perceptions towards individuals living with a mental illness. In many case, society perceives these individuals as dangerous, unpredictable, and as lacking a positive role in society among many other misconceptions. The media’s negative portrayal of mental illness perpetuates the already negative images of mental illness in society.  

Often times, I will read a story where the media points out that an individual has a mental illness when it has nothing to do with the story. They will casually throw it into an article in between entirely unrelated information. Recently, my father emailed me a story that did just that. The story was about an NBA player who had been suspended. Here is how they stated that he had Bipolar Disorder:

“West has Bipolar Disorder. He was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2010-11 season after pleading guilty to weapons charges in Maryland. Authorities say he was carrying three loaded guns and a knife when he was stopped for speeding on a three-wheel motorcycle in 2009.”

I have yet to figure out the relevance to the story that mentioning that he has Bipolar Disorder holds!

What are some of the common myths about mental illness that the media perpetuates?

People with mental illness are violent- Many studies have found this is the most common theme in the media about individuals with a mental illness. In reality, research has shown that mentally ill individuals are actually more likely to be victims than perpetrators of crimes.

People with mental illness are unpredictable- In reality, the majority of individuals with a mental illness are just ordinary individuals who go to work and school every day; who live normal lives just like everyone else.You may share an office with someone with Bipolar Disorder or be in a class with someone with major depressive illness and would never know they have a mental illness unless they told you. 

Individuals with a mental illness don’t get better- Anyone who has read my story or has known me over the years would know that this, in fact, is entirely false!

Teens with a mental illness are just going through a phase- A doctor tried to tell my parents this when I was 15. I am 28 now and my diagnosis has gone nowhere. My symptoms have improved greatly as a result of treatment and not just waiting them out. Claiming a mental illness to actually be a phase has to potential to be harmful to that individual because a better prognosis often times results from earlier diagnosis and treatment.

All mental health professionals are the same- Mental health professionals are made out to be individuals that should be either feared or laughed at; depending on the portrayal. Some mental health professionals are amazing, some are awful, and some are somewhere in the middle. I've seen them all in my time. It is important as a consumer of mental health services to know that they are not what the media makes them out to be. Continue to search for a good one if you haven't found one yet; don't give up.

Children’s shows and movies are certainly not exempt from this negative portrayal either. Take Beauty and the Beast for example. Gaston makes the attempt to prove that Belle’s father is crazy and that he should be locked up because of it. Many children’s shows have been found to use damaging words such as “mad”, “crazy” and “nuts”. Many have also depicted characters with mental illness as being aggressive and threatening, leading the other characters to fear them, avoid them, or disrespect them.

The negative depiction of mental illness by the media not only contributes to the stigma of mental illness in society but it also prevents individuals from seeking out the proper treatment for their mental illness.  

“There are people out there who could benefit from therapy but don’t go because they think it’s just for ‘crazy’ people or think all therapists are nuts — because that’s what they see in the media." Ryan Howes, Ph.D, a psychologist, writer and professor in Pasadena, California.

The media’s negative portrayal of mental illness can also lead individuals living with a mental illness to believe these negative messages and personally hold true the message true about themselves. 

Stigma Prevents Recovery!!!!

Let us not forget the TV therapists like Dr. Phil who have created an expectation among people that there are quick and easy fixes to complex problems. This just isn't reality!

Mental illness in the media is a topic that I have always found myself frustrated with but have never really known what to do about it. This is such a widespread issue and I've never really knew where to start in regards to tackling it. Please remember that educating about mental illness is extremely important for stigma! It is also very important to educate about how falsely media portrays mental illness. It is important to debunk those myths when they come up in conversation or if you are watching a show or a movie with someone in which mental illness is portrayed inaccurately. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to mental illness; it creates stigma and discrimination!

The media has the potential to be a great outlet for positively changing the public view of mental illness. NAMI has an initiative titled "You Are Not Alone In This Fight".  They have put out a couple PSA's showing that Mental Illness does not discriminate and even some of our past presidents have been affected by mental illness. I have posted them in the past but will repost them shortly. This is a great way to use media for the positive when it comes to mental health stigma. Bring Change 2 Mind is another great organization that uses media positively. It absolutely can be done! Unfortunately, the negative portrayal of mental illness that is seen in the media outweighs the positive portrayal.

“The habits that took years to build, do not take a day to change”- Susan Powter

This quote is extremely relevant in regards to stigma as well!

Don’t give up, keep fighting it. It won't disappear overnight but don't let that stop your fight!

Thank you for reading! Until next time...

Sara Breidenstein

Kissing Stigma Goodbye 

 

Sources:

Media's Damaging Depictions of Mental Illness 

The Media and Mental Illness: The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous 

How Shootings Stigmatize People Living with Mental Illness

Here is a great article that I found worth sharing!

How Shootings Stigmatize People Living with Mental Illness

By Michael J. Fitzpatrick, NAMI Executive Director

When tragedies occur, such as the one at the Navy Yard in Washington, all Americans are deeply affected.

They include the one in four American adults who experience mental health problems. That's approximately 60 million Americans. Their first reaction is much like that of anyone else: feelings of anger and anguish and wanting to know when such events will ever stop.

But there's another, secondary impact to this community if a history of mental illness is suspected. Tragically, in the case with the Navy Yard gunman, mental illness appears to be a factor. But in too many cases, people simply assume that it is, no matter how much we caution that it's best not to attempt to diagnose any medical condition speculatively through the news media.

Unfortunately, stigma surrounds mental illness. It's most associated with a violent stereotype. The result has always been fear, prejudice and discrimination toward anyone struggling with a mental health problem.

The stereotype endures despite the fact that the U.S. Surgeon General has found that the likelihood of violence from 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."

Despite the impact of the Navy Yard tragedy and those of Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech on perceptions, a much greater, different reality exists. Many thousands of veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder. Civilian employees of the military seek help for depression; teachers live with anxiety disorders. Students succeed academically while managing bipolar disorder.

People living with schizophrenia may be psychologists, professors, peer counselors or businesspersons. They are all members of their communities. Few are violent.

In the face of violence, people may simply be unable to fathom how an event could occur other than through mental illness, thought of often in non-medical terms such as "madness" or "insanity." Their perceptions also are conditioned by headlines that largely overshadow the greater reality.

Stigma perpetuated by the Navy Yard tragedy will be internalized by many people living with mental health problems, causing them to stay silent and withdraw from others. This will impede their recovery in many ways.

Stigma will remain a major barrier that keeps people reaching out for help when they need it.

In the wake of such tragedies, some will call for persons with mental health problem to be "screened out" by employers in the hiring process or to deny them security clearances. In the first case, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides some protection against discrimination, but it is not always followed or easily enforced.

With top secret security clearances, just ask any member of the military or government official or contractor about the anxiety they often feel if they need to see a psychiatrist and then need to disclose it as part of a security clearance application or review.

Many issues need to be addressed in the case of the Navy Yard tragedy and the tragedies before it. They include what happened -- or didn't happen -- in the military and veterans mental health care systems, particularly when the gunman allegedly sought help from the Veterans Health Administration. Was there effective engagement?

The response of law enforcement should also be addressed. In theory, had the police both arrested and charged the gunman in past incidents involving a gun or disorderly conduct, he would have been put into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database and prohibited from buying a gun, regardless of his mental health status. It is also possible that his case might have been handled by a mental health court, leading to supervision and treatment.

Had Rhode Island police who responded to the gunman's 911 call for help in August been trained for crisis intervention and worked with a mobile crisis unit to have him medically evaluated, then perhaps this past week's horrors could have been averted.

Those are issues that must be pursued. But in the haste to respond, let's not stigmatize or discriminate against the millions of American who live productively with mental illness and who share the anguish and anger of other Americans in response to tragic horrors.

If stigma wins, things won't get better.

Direct link to the article:  http://blog.nami.org/2013/09/how-shootings-stigmatize-people-living.html

Stigma Definition

Watch your words

Copied a pasted directly from Bring Change 2 Mind's website: http://bringchange2mind.org/pages/get-involved

 

Choose your words wisely: Learn about the impact your words can have on those with mental illnesses

 

Words are very powerful.

• When we say someone is "crazy" or "that's totally mental" we're perpetuating stereotypes.
• Eliminate the phrase "suffers from mental illness". Instead, choose, "lives with mental illness" or "is affected by mental illness".
• When we say a person is "schizophrenic," we make their mental illness fully define their complete identity. Instead, be clear that this is a disease that individuals manage and live with, e.g. "he is living with schizophrenia".
• There are many phrases and terms; "crazy," "nuts", "psycho", "schiz", "retard" and "lunatic" that may seem insignificant, but really aren't.

While there may be times when it is too challenging or simply not possible to politely correct someone else's insensitive use of language, you can always watch your own.

Words to Avoid

Labeling words to avoid saying to or about someone with a mental illness:

A recent experience inspired me to post this, all of these I believe are typically out of ignorance and not blatant hate or disrespect, but nonetheless, extremely offensive:

-Crazy
-Deranged
-Disturbed
-Fruitcake
-Head case/nut case
-Insane or that they have lost their sanity- or any variation of that
-Loony
-Loose screw
-Lunatic
-Mad or madness
-Not all there
-Nuts
-Psycho
-Psychotic (unless it is being used in a way to clinically describe psychotic symptoms or behavior)
-Psychopath
-Twisted

When talking about how someone is doing mentally, mental health is the proper terminology- not mental sanity or anything else along those lines.

There is no such thing as a "loony bin" or anything else along those lines.  It is a psychiatric hospital and there is no shame in seeking the help you need there.

You get the point! It hurts, it's offensive and it's untrue.  Consider the feelings of others before using terminology like that even if there are no ill-intentions.

Thanks for reading, until next time...

-Kissing Stigma Goodbye-

What not to say to someone with Bipolar Disorder

I was trying to come up with something more creative and personal to write about tonight but to no avail.   I seem to have quite the case of writers block this evening.   So I'm just going to briefly discuss ten things NOT to say to someone with Bipolar Disorder.  These are things I, and anyone else with Bipolar Disorder would find to be extremely hurtful and insensitive. 

What NOT to say to someone with Bipolar disorder  

1. Snap out of it/Get over it 
2. You have so many things to be thankful for, how can you be depressed?
3. You’d feel better if you stopped taking all those ‘pills’
4. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger
5. I Know how you feel / I understand how you feel
6. This too shall pass
7. Everybody has bad days
8. You’d feel better if you prayed more
9. You can choose to feel better
10. There are a lot of people worse off than you

This is not a comprehensive list of things not to say to someone with Bipolar Disorder, you can browse the web and find so many more.  These are the 10 that stuck out to me that I felt necessary to mention.  These can really be transferred to any mental illness they are not in any way exclusive to Bipolar Disorder.

Sounds stupid doesn’t it?

Saying these things can be extremely hurtful especially at a time when the individual it is said to is experiencing a manic or depressive episode.

Say the following out loud and think about how stupid it sounds…

You just lost your spouse… Snap out of it, you’ll be fine

You’re diabetic… You’d feel better if you stopped taking those insulin shots

You have cancer… I know how you feel….

You just lost your spouse… no big deal, everyone has bad days

You’re diabetic… You’d feel better if you prayed more

You’ve got MS… Don’t worry about it, there are a lot of people worse off than you

Every last one of them sounds absolutely absurd and ridiculous.  It sounds just as absurd and ridiculous when you replace any one of those circumstances with Bipolar Disorder.  Bipolar Disorder is an illness just like any other, it is in illness of the brain but nonetheless no different or less important than an illness of the body.

What do these things relay to an individual with Bipolar Disorder?

Saying these insensitive things to someone with Bipolar disorder is the equivalent of saying:

• It is their choice to be sick and they could choose not to be sick
• Their illness is not serious
•  Their treatment is invalid
• Their pain doesn’t matter
• They’ll be fine, they just need to wait for the pain to end
• Their illness is no different than anyone else’s problems                                                                                                                                                                   

You would never tell someone with cancer that they chose it

OR

Someone with MS that their illness is not serious

OR

Someone with diabetes that their use of insulin is an invalid treatment

OR 

 Someone with MS that their pain doesn’t matter

OR

 Someone who just lost their spouse that they’ll be fine they just need to wait for the pain to end

OR

Someone with Cancer that their illness is no different than someone's day to day problems

SO

Please don’t say any of that to someone with a mental illness!

• Bipolar Disorder is NOT a choice 
• Bipolar Disorder is serious
• Medication is necessary
• The pain of mania and depression does matter- it is real and it matters
• When dealing with a manic or depressive episode we don’t want to hear that we will be just fine and we just have to wait for the pain to end.  It doesn’t work that way- we have to work hard to get past it.  That kind of thing doesn’t happen on its own it takes a lot of strength and hard work.  Please don’t discount the hard work we have put into overcoming our illness.
• Bipolar Disorder is very different than someone’s day to day problems- again please never discount all the hard work it takes to overcome.

“If your presence can’t add value to my life, your absence will make no difference”

Thanks for reading! Until Next time…

-Kissing Stigma Goodbye-

Where does stigma come from?

Welcome Back!

A little about stigma today...

I have dealt with a decent amount of stigma surrounding mental illness in my lifetime.  Even if the stigma was not directed towards me, it still had an effect on me.  More often than not, I find myself in a situation in which I am embarrassed or ashamed to admit that I have a mental illness.  I have found myself in many situations where those around me did not know of my Bipolar Disorder and have said things that were no doubt offensive to me and I just took it all in and never said anything.  I wasn’t at a point in my life until very recently that I felt comfortable enough to talk about my illness with others and not feel ashamed or embarrassed.  I can honestly say that I am still not at the point where in the middle of a conversation where someone was negatively discussing mental illness that I could diffuse it and educate.  That takes a lot of courage, I know I am well on my way to that point, but I’m not there yet for sure.  The only real way to get rid of stigma is to educate people about mental illness and to open up to people about your own mental illness so they can see that we are just like them.

What is stigma?

Stigma is defined by Webster’s dictionary as: a mark of shame or discredit.

Where does stigma come from?

Stigma comes from:

•  Stereotypes 
•  Ignorance
• Misconception
• Fear
• Hollywood portrayal

"Stigma leads the public to avoid people with mental disorders. It reduces access to resources and leads to low self-esteem, isolation, and hopelessness. It deters the public from seeking, and wanting to pay for care. Stigma results in outright discrimination and abuse. More tragically, it deprives people of their dignity and interferes with their full participation in society."  (U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher)

Stigma makes those of us with a mental illness ashamed and afraid to talk about our mental health.  The fact is NO ONE should ever be ashamed of an illness that they have.  No one is at fault for having a mental illness; unfortunately, society tends to make us feel at fault for our illness and therefore ashamed of it.

So what can be done to begin to change this cycle?

For starters… Education! Education! Education! Knowledge is key!

Other than that, take a look at SAMHSA’s list of Myth’s and Fact’s about Mental Illness for some knowledge and some ideas on how to begin to end the cycle of stigma:

Myth: There's no hope for people with mental illnesses.
Fact: There are more treatments, strategies, and community supports than ever before, and even more are on the horizon. People with mental illnesses lead active, productive lives.

Myth: I can't do anything for someone with mental health needs.
Fact: You can do a lot, starting with the way you act and how you speak. You can nurture an environment that builds on people's strengths and promotes good mental health. For example:

• Avoid labeling people with words like "crazy," "wacko," "loony," or by their diagnosis. Instead of saying someone is a "schizophrenic" say "a person with schizophrenia."
• Learn the facts about mental health and share them with others, especially if you hear something that is untrue.
• Treat people with mental illnesses with respect and dignity, as you would anybody else.
• Respect the rights of people with mental illnesses and don't discriminate against them when it comes to housing, employment, or education. Like other people with disabilities, people with mental health needs are protected under Federal and State laws.

Myth: People with mental illnesses are violent and unpredictable.
Fact: In reality, the vast majority of people who have mental health needs are no more violent than anyone else. You probably know someone with a mental illness and don't even realize it.

Myth: Mental illnesses cannot affect me.
Fact: Mental illnesses are surprisingly common; they affect almost every family in America. Mental illnesses do not discriminate-they can affect anyone. 

Myth: Mental illnesses are brought on by a weakness of character.
Fact: Mental illnesses are a product of the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors. Research has shown genetic and biological factors are associated with schizophrenia, bipolar, depression, and alcoholism. Social influences, such as loss of a loved one or a job, can also contribute to the development of various disorders.

Myth: Once people develop mental illnesses, they will never recover.
Fact: Studies show that most people with mental illnesses get better, and many recover completely. Recovery refers to the process in which people are able to live, work, learn, and participate fully in their communities. For some individuals, recovery is the ability to live a fulfilling and productive life. For others, recovery implies the reduction or complete remission of symptoms. Science has shown that having hope plays an integral role in an individual's recovery.

I picked out the few ones that I related to the best, if you would like to see the entire list, you can visit SAMHSA’s site at:  Myths and Facts about Mental Illness

One of my favorites that SAMHSA mentioned and that I’d like to expand upon is referring to someone as being a mental illness.  I am not Bipolar, I am Sara.  However, I do have Bipolar.  Saying that I am Bipolar is defining me as my illness.  Many do this with no harm meant; however, know that it can be offensive.  I work very hard to remain as asymptomatic as possible; I don’t want to be defined as Bipolar.  I want to be defined by my hopes, dreams, aspirations and accomplishments.

“Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost. “ -Chauncey Depew

Thanks for reading! Until next time….

-Kissing Stigma Goodbye-