Stigma and shame can all be reduced by how we portray it with our own families and friends. Fear is contagious and when people fear the unknown, they tend to react in ways that are not expected or choose to speak badly about it because they don't know any better. I believe it is important that as a society we should advocate for the illness and really educate people all over. We should also part blame the media and what they portray in movies, shows and news because most of the general public watch TV or know someone that does and will report a mental illness story as a joke or undermine the reality about the illness. Mental illness is not viewed as a "regular human illness", it is however looked at in a derogatory way because it is more visible to others. We do not walk around with a sign saying, I have cancer, heart disease, or lupus but mental disease is visible, we can see it, hear it or feel it. It hurts to know that we still live in a society that views illness in such a way but again it is all due to lack of knowledge and lack of education through our school systems and media. I hope as health educators we can start making a difference in reducing stigmas and shame when it comes to human health.
Dana Anderson
Hi Danadane,
ReplyDeleteI agree that since mental illness is not viewed as a regular human illness that it is not taken seriously. Even though some of the mental illness are a little weird that doesn't make them unimportant. People have to understand that they are real and that people really can't control themselves when it comes to these certain mental illness like OCD and different phobias. Great post.
Shenita Jolivette
Certain phobia, depression and, eating disorders are not just mental illness it can affect us physically as well. Our society just needs to understand and attain more knowledge about mental illness so that we don’t make a mockery of someone because of their action. Mental illness is a serious disease and in some cases can lead to death. I agree with you when you say we need to blame the media because they have created misunderstanding about lot of medical illness. As health educators we need to educate people about these mental illnesses through classes and seminar so people can be more aware and understand people affected by mental illness.
ReplyDeleteSubuk Usmani
You have a good thought and you realize that, mental illness is in part associated with fear and uncertainty one could face in our society. stigma and shame toward mentally ill people make the problem worse. as you suggested advocacy and educate the public about mental illness may change the perception about mental illness. I agree with you that we start from our family members. how we treat mentally ill family member. we need to treat others the same way.
ReplyDeleteIn the past mental illness was viewed as some sort of personal weakness - a character flaw. When we as a society are finally able to recognize mental illness as a disease no different from cancer or heart disease, then there will be more attention and resources aimed at it. People fear that which they do not understand or cannot control, and people who are suffering from a mental illness are different so we are uneasy or fearful about dealing with them. Ours is a society that can be intolerant of those who are helpless and dependent.
ReplyDelete