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Mental health stigma introduction
False portrayal of mental illnesses in media
Mental health stigma introduction
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Mental illness is seriously misunderstood in society due to institutions that govern us. Social forces such as economics, environment, media, and family all have an influential impact on mental illness as they are the main factors as to how individuals are socialized growing up. Individuals with a mental disorder, most commonly depressive or substance abuse disorder, commit most suicides (more than 90 percent) in the United States (National Institute of Mental Health 2008). These social forces cloud our thoughts, produce judgmental viewpoints, and ultimately generate obstacles for treatment. Our society can improve this situation by changing how mental illness is portrayed in the media and society, how mental illness is treated in our medical system, and how people learn about mental illness in our educational system. If we can make changes with these forces, the stigmas faced by the mentally ill will be less daunting and those who need help will have greater access to it. Media portrays conceptions about mental illness. In 2009 Dingfelder stated that "people are twice as likely today than they were in the 1950's to believe people with mental illnesses are violent". In fact, the mentally ill are almost three times more likely to be victims of violence than people of regular society. Media stereotypes the ill in video games, news, and TV. In the news, the mentally ill only get recognized when they do a heinous act like shoot up a school or commit a crime. For instance, last month in Florida a mother tried to drive her minivan with 3 kids in it across the Atlantic Ocean, or when the news exploits a 39 year old mother from Utah for killing 6 babies and wrapping them up in a box. In other words, the media rarely ever shows the menta... ... middle of paper ... ...he curriculum that is being taught and it will cause a cycle of cheating and strain him in further educational material. Generally speaking, society usually focuses on individual actions that impact illness; we quite often overlook social factors that contribute to mental problems. For this reason, I have illustrated some of the social forces that exacerbate mental illness like media and societal influences, medical treatment changes and insurance disparities, and educational factors. I have also examined and explained various ways for society to combat these problems. School curriculum, anti-stigma busters, policy changes, and better access to insurance coverage can all have an impact on eradicating mental health stigmas in institutions. However, is it too late to erase stigmas and make systematic changes that are instilled in society from generation to generation?