1. Executive Summary This report proposes a campaign that addresses the issue of how quality of life for those with mental illness can be affected because of social exclusion from stigma and discrimination. The proposed target public of this campaign is the Communities; this public can be segmented into groups such as Age, Ethnicity, Education, employment and service users. Social Integration plays a vital role in illuminating any discrimination against mental illness, and improving quality of life for them. To achieve social integration the campaign encourages communities of the public to be more open and educated them to be more extroverts towards the mentally unwell so that they can own their illness and share their experience with their …show more content…
Strategy Targeting those who EXCLUDE consumers, by changing their mind – set, attitude, and behaviour towards mental Illness, and encourage the mentally unwell to own their illness and share their experience with their communities. Objectives 1. Empower consumers to take ownership of their illness, so that by the next mental health Awareness week (1st week of October 2015) they can confidently share their journey as a mentally unwell person with their communities. 2. To devise a common vision and commitment plan amongst the consumers and the targeted public to use as a guideline for them to work towards to achieving either on a quarterly basis or yearly. 3. To improve quality of life for those who suffer from mental illness to at least 50% or more by 2019 4. Use social media as the primary platform for social integration between consumers and their targeted public. …show more content…
Conduct workshops that focuses on the consumers development, growth and empowerment, through these workshops they can assign leadership roles, guest speaker opportunities etc. that will contribute to build consumer confidence in sharing their journey. So that October 2015 these consumers can be the frontiers of mental health awareness week. To facilitate this workshops can vary from $0.00 to $350 (dependent on what resources is required to host these workshops as well as the number of people attending. 2. It’s important that Like minds has a vision that, both Like Minds consumers and targeted public can follow – Vision Statement “increase social inclusion and reduce stigma and discrimination for people with experiences of mental illness”. A commitment plan can be devised between the Like minds and the targeted public, a plan that is easy to understand and
The stigma and negative associations that go with mental illness have been around as long as mental illness itself has been recognized. As society has advanced, little changes have been made to the deep-rooted ideas that go along with psychological disorders. It is clearly seen throughout history that people with mental illness are discriminated against, cast out of society, and deemed “damaged”. They are unable to escape the stigma that goes along with their illness, and are often left to defend themselves in a world that is not accepting of differences in people. Society needs to realize what it is doing, and how it is affecting these people who are affected with mental illness.
This paper focuses on the current initiatives and electronic/ paper resources created to further the claims of the Consumer/Survivors movement. The search of my data included searches including, C/S/X, mental health consumers movement, MAD pride, anti-psychiatry, mental health movements. I chose articles and websites based on their relevance to the Consumer/ Survivor movement which included information provided by consumers themselves and their allies (organizations and/ or individual/ groups that were pro C/S/X movement.)
Participation in mental health refers to a range of processes where the consumer, carers and family members engage to collaborate in the planning, development and evaluation of recovery services (Groves 2012, p.1). Research indicates that consumer participation in health services results in higher quality, cost effective, accountable services and project with an improved health outcome for the consumer. The participation of consumers and cares can also allow mental health professionals the chance to gain insight into service provisions and the chance to build relationships with consumers and cares. Consumer participation is regarded as a fundamental aspect towards the recovery process. This is due to the fact that it enhances social inclusion through socially valued roles and helps develop new skills. It’s also been suggest that there’s an increased sense of satisfaction from staff when the consumer and carers are actively participating in their care and treatment (National Mental Health Consumer & Carer Forum 2010 pp. 1-2). Consumers and their cares and family have the right to participate in all areas of decision-making that impact their mental health. By participation, consumers, carers, families and mental health professional can collaborate share responsibilities about care and treatment decisions. Encouraging participation can be an
Majority of individuals with severe mental health disorder are faced with double challenges. On one hand, they battle with the signs, symptoms, mark and defects associated with the disease. On the other hand, they are faced with stigma, stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice as a result of mental health misconception. Hence, individuals with mental health diseases are deprived quality life opportunities such as good job, stable income, and relationships (Corrigan et al, 2000). There are basically two types of stigma, namely; public and self-stigma. Public stigma as to do with how the general population responds to individuals with mental health illness. While self-stigma is the preconceived notion which mental health patients use against themselves (Corrigan et al, 2000). Evidence show that magnanimous percentage of United State citizens and several European countries all indulge in mental health stigmatization (Phelan et al, 2000; Madianos et 1987). Furthermore, Effective strategies to reduce public stigma are classified in three processes; protest, education and contact (Corrigan & Penn, 1999). Studies show that engaging in mental health education programs led to
The discussion of mental health is slowly being brought to the social surface to create a more inclusive society for those dealing with a mental illness. However, those with a mental illness are continuously being affected by stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination by those who simply don’t comprehend the complexity of the human brain (Glaser, G.2017). As more people become mental health activist, they are exposing the plethora of issues surrounding the overall mental and physical stability of those who are negatively affected by the social construct of what it means to be normal.
Mental illness can be defined as a variety of disorders within the brain that can affect an individual’s mood, way of thinking and behaviour. These illnesses are caused by biological, psychological and sociological influences. Mental illnesses have become more prominent throughout communities while the seeking for help or a cure has appeared to become less evident. In today’s society, mental illnesses are portrayed through various media platforms in a way that causes such a stigma around the illness that it affects those who suffer almost as much as the illness itself.
My role there was to educate and provide activities to the consumers about healthy food choices, smoking cessation, sexually transmitted diseases, hygiene practices, and their various mental disorders and comorbidities. As a student, I was assigned a consumer, and was responsible for performing a weekly mental assessment and assisting him with problem solving skills. My assigned consumer was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. It quickly became apparent to me that communicating with him would be challenging. He required constant repetition and reinforcement to feel comfortable with new interventions. However, my persistence proved to have an impact on his impulses. He began to focus less on his impulsions when included in group activities led by the nursing students. He slowly opened up to encouragement and direction from
An estimated 61.5 million American Lives, or one in four, suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year, and it takes a decade, on average for them to make contact with a health care professional (Pending). One in 17 Americans currently live with chronic mental illness disorders such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder (pending). Despite the new discoveries and advances in science and technology, the social stigma of mental illness prevails. Why is mental illness an issue? Why should healthy people be concerned if their neighbor suffers from acute depression? Those are the questions that the average American faces. Yet, our society remains naïve when it comes to mental health. The roots of this issue are found in the lack of information and lack of mental health accessibility.
These goals and recommendations were to first, make sure, “Americans Understand that Mental Health is Essential to Overall Health. Recommendations, advance and implement a national campaign to reduce the stigma of seeking care and a national strategy for suicide prevention and address mental health with the same urgency as physical health” (Goldman, p. 196, Table 1, 2009). The second goal and its recommendations were, “Mental Health Care is Consumer and Family Driven. Recommendations: Develop an individualized plan of care for every adult with a serious mental illness and child with a serious emotional disturbance, involve consumers and families fully in orienting the mental health system toward recovery, align relevant Federal programs to improve access and accountability for mental health services, create a Comprehensive State Mental Health Plan, and to protect and enhance the rights of people with mental illnesses (Goldman, p. 196, Table 1,
There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed. Most commonly, people are stated to be “depressed” rather than someone who “has depression”. It is a common perception that mental illnesses are not a priority when it comes to Government spending just as it is forgotten that most mental health disorders can be treated and lead a normal life if treatment is successful. The effect of this makes a sufferer feels embarrassed and feel dehumanized. A common perception is that they should be feared or looked down upon for something they have not caused. People experience stigma as a barrier that can affect nearly every aspect of life—limiting opportunities for employment, housing and education, causing the loss of family ...
The consequential formation of self-stigma acts as a major barrier to treatment (Abiri, Oakley, Hitchcock & Hall, 2016). A study conducted by Otto F. Whal (1999) explored the experiences of mentally ill individuals regarding stigma and discrimination. The study was composed of two parts: a survey and an interview. The survey asked a series of questions regarding the sources of public stigma and the nature of the discrimination. The results revealed that a substantial portion of the subjects’ report being avoided after revealing their illness (60%), hearing others say offensive things regarding their illness (80%) and viewing media involving their illness that they found hurtful (77%).
This article puts into perspective how those who are mentally ill lose their quality of life by becoming stigmatized by those surrounding them personally and in a broader sense. Their jobs, housing, health care, and affiliation with others is negatively impacted because of the stigma placed upon them because of their mental illness. This article continues to describe the stigmas that are placed upon the mentally ill by our Western culture. The authors state that mentally ill persons deal with being feared and excluded because of their mental state. They also deal with being viewed as irresponsible because of their mental diagnosis. Finally, they are seen as immature and childlike, thus requiring constant care to be put into place for them. Not only do these authors focus on public stigmas, but they also focus on how these cultural stigmas cause those who are mentally ill to begin to internally stigmatize themselves. This causes self-esteem issues; thus, this causes the individual to feel less worthy and less likely to succeed in his or her future in all areas of
In conclusion, stigma still effects millions of individuals dealing with mental illness, and taking away opportunities for a better life. However, no direct answers have been made on how to diminish mental health stigma. Protest, education, and contact have been research time and again. The research shows that more research is needed in order to change beliefs of the general public and employees. One author suggested that anxiety and stress in working environment is related to the social stigma of mental illness and to change the stigma or perception contact with individuals is needed (Jorm et al. 2009, p. 184).
While in the previously mentioned interviews of mental health service managers ‘Training and education emerged as a theme and seemed to be recognized as an appropriate place for consumer participation’ (Bennetts et al. 2011, p. 162) The need for additional education and training to better meet the needs of people with mental health issues was also highlighted in ‘The Report into the Human Rights of People with Mental Illness,
It is deeply alarming that ignoring mental health is systematically ignored as an important part of health promotion. This is shocking because, in theory, mental health is recognized as an important component of health, the close link between physical and mental health is recognized, and it is generally known that physical and mental health share many of the same social, environmental and economic components. We know that facilities dedicated to those with mental health problems are more vulnerable to the resources of physical diseases in many parts of the world, and it is essential that mental health promotion should not be equally affected