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Mental illness misrepresentation media
Mental illness misrepresentation media
Mental illness misrepresentation media
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Mental health illness affects 26.2 % of the United states adults ages 18 and up. That is 1 in 4 people as of 2004 ("The Number"). Mental health illness does affect over a quarter of the United states population to include me as one of the people who suffer from it. This has affected me and changed my life drastically. Aside from the difficulties of having a mental health illness is how people react to me once they find out. This is widely due to mass media creating a stigma for the mental health ill people that most of the general population tend to believe in the United states.
I will begin with what I remember of my experience of learning I have mental health illness. I remember suffering heavily through my early teens to my twenties with depression. I had tried at that time just about every type of depression medication available and none of them worked on me. It wasn't until I was in my twenties that my depression just kind of went away. I thought I was done with suffering from mental health problems, but I would be wrong.
I was age 30 and in the United States Navy and had been in the U. S. Navy for 11 years. I was attached to the USS Abraham Lincoln and we were currently in Honk Kong for a port visit. I remember I met a girl there and we spent the day together just had fun while she showed me around Hong Kong. I ended up asking the girl that I was with why she did some of the things she did in life. She explained that she came from a very poor background and that this was the only way she could get ahead. I remember seeing the sadness in her eyes and the hurt of doing what she did. It was at that moment something strange happen to me. I said some things to her, but what was odd was that it was like something speaking throu...
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... find stability and maintain their stability of their illness. Many of these people overcome their illness to some extent and manage to play an important role in society.
Work Cited
Claire Henderson, Sara Evans-Lacko, Clare Flach, Graham, Thornicrofi. "Responses to Mental Health Stigma Questions: "The Importance of Social Desirability and Data Collection Method." Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Mar 2012. Vol 57, No3. Nursing/Academic Edition. Web. 01 Apr 2014.
Emma E. McGinty, Daniel W. Webster, Marian Jarlenski, and Colleen L. Barry. "News Media Framing of Serious Mental Illness and Gun Violence in the United States, 1997-2012." American Journal of Public Health. Mar 2003: Vol 104, No. 3. Nursing/Academic Edition. Web. 01 Apr 2014.
"The Number Count: Mental Disorders in America." www.nimh.nih.gov. National Institutes of Health, 20143. 01 Apr 2014.
Mental illness plagues one out of four American citizens. Mental illness varies greatly from person to person. The spectrum of mental illness includes many illnesses including, depression and anxiety as well as some more serious illnesses such as Down syndrome. All mental illness plays a role in how this person is going to function in society. These individuals have unique needs and individual strengths that need evaluated for proper care.
For a very long time, mental health was a disease people would not dare speak about. The stigma associated with mental health meant that it was viewed as a curse or simply poor upbringing. Crazy, right? (Pardon the pun). Although it’s not seen as a curse by us in this generation any more, many people with mental health issues still have to face ignorance, prejudice and discrimination from our society just because of their lack of understanding or reluctance to try and understand. Be that as it may, these attitudes directly impact upon how and if people choose to seek help, making the negative and ignorant opinions and attitudes of others potentially dangerous to many individuals and the people around them.
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. If we continue to not help them, and to foster their illness, it will only get worse.
Mental illness is an increasing problem in America. Currently about 26.2% of Americans suffer from a mental disorder. A mental illness/disorder is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to relate to others and daily functions. Mental illness can affect humans of any age, race, gender and socioeconomic status. However the care that is needed to effectively cure and help the people affected by the illness is not equal for everyone here in American, especially for African Americans.
The media in American society has a major influential impact on the minds and beliefs of millions of people. Whether through the news, television shows, or film, the media acts as a huge database for knowledge and instruction. It is both an auditory and visual database that can press images and ideas into people's minds. Even if the individual has no prior exposure or knowledge to something, the media can project into people's minds and leave a lasting impression. Though obviously people are aware of what they are listening to or watching, thoughts and assumptions can drift into their minds without even realizing it. These thoughts that drift in are extremely influential. The massive impact it can leave on America's perception leads to generalizations, assumptions, and stigmas. The media influence is not always negative, however. In most cases it has beneficial and positive aspects. Without the media, people would be drastically less informed and conscientious about major issues in the world around us. In some cases, however, the way the media portrays an issue can twist one's perception, leaving an assumption instead of a factual concept. Mental illness is one of the biggest concepts that the media has distorted due to the majority of portrayals the media presents. Mental health is extremely important and plays a key role in every individual's life. Yet it is also has millions of misconceptions. Mental illness is more common that one would like to believe. In reality, one in five Americans will suffer from a mental disorder in any given year. Though that ratio is about equivalent to more than fifty-four million people, mental illness still remains a shameful and stigmatized topic (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). The taboo of mental illness has an extensive and exhausting history, dating back to the beginning of American colonization. It has not been an easy road to say the least. Due to the endless efforts and research of certain foundations and individuals, the ideas and functions of mental health have improved significantly. The advancements made in the field are impressive and without them humankind would not be the same. Yet then why do only fewer than eight million people who are in need of help seek treatment? (National Mental Health Association, 2001). The history, stigmatization, and perce...
Over the past years media has been overwhelmed with news about mass shootings happening around America and if mental illness is the primary cause of the violent act. On February 2014, Jonathan M. Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish published their article “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms” in the American Journal of Public Health that addresses the issue that mental illness has very little to do mass shootings which is commonly used on the aftermath of the shooting
There are so many types of mental illnesses that affect people every day. When some people think of mental illnesses they think of the ones that would cause people to have physical symptoms as well, but that’s untrue, there are many more that you would never know anyone has if you were to see them on the street. As defined by the 2008 encyclopedia “a mental illness is any disease of the mind or brain that seriously affects a person’s ability or behavior. Symptoms of a mental illness may include extreme moods, such as excessive sadness or anxiety, or a decreased ability to think clearly or remember well.” A mentally ill person has severe symptoms that damage the person’s ability to function in everyday activities and situations. Every nation and every economic level can be affected by a mental illness. In the United States alone about 3% of the population has severe mental illness and to add to that number about 40% of people will experience a type of mental illness at least once in their lives. Some cases of mental illnesses can go away on their own, but some cases are so severe that they require professional treatment. There is so much more available to help people recover from their symptoms than in the past.
"The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America." NIMH RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. .
However, local and national news also produces negativity towards mental illness by “portraying people with mental illness as threats to themselves and to others” (Anaya 4). In the past two years, the news features stories such as a man who has schizophrenia, running on a shooting spree then killing himself; or a mother with depression who murders her children, then kills herself (Anaya 4). Anaya explains that television programs use mental illness as a headline to grab the attention of views and ultimately implies to respond with fear (5). Highlighting that mental illnesses are the reason for the evil in society, hurting those who suffer with mental illnesses. Therefore, the population begin to believe mental illness is bad, so do the people who suffer with mental
The two different types of stigma have different effects on the attitude towards those with mental health issues. The public stigma can lead to discrimination and prejudice. The prejudice and discrimination that result from the public stigma can prevent those diag...
My experience with Mental Health as far as Mental illness goes is I believe my mother dealt with depression. I found out that my mother was sexually abused as a child. She had me when she was 14 years old because she wanted someone to love and someone to love her back unconditionally, she battled with low self-esteem and then drug when I was about 15years old. I have dealt with patients with Alzheimer’s and while working in the nursing homes and hospitals as Certified Nurse Assistant and Certified Medication Technician. I am currently working with a co-working that has ADD/ADHD for me has become challenging simply because I see when she is trying to get over and manipulate situations to get her way. I only say this because I have watched her and
Why is there a cloud of judgment and misunderstanding still surrounding the subject? People with a mental disorder or with a history of mental health issues are continually ostracized by society. This results in it being more difficult than it already is for the mentally ill to admit their symptoms to others and to seek treatment. To towards understanding mental illness is to finally lift the stigma, and to finally let sufferers feel safe and accepted within today’s society. There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed.
The stigma is created by the lack of knowledge, narrow-minded attitudes, and the acts of judgment against people who have a mental illness. The stigma results in extensive consequences for the individuals being affected. The stigma ends up becoming worse than the mental illness itself because it prevents individuals from seeking help during the early stages of the mental illness. There is even a vast availability of mental-health treatments that are effective, yet the majority of people experiencing problems related to mental-health does not seek help. 28% of the adult population of the United States have a diagnosable mental condition and only 8% seek treatment. These statistics help prove that stigma is one of the main reasons for individuals not willing to seek help. The individual fears being stigmatized. They fear being rejected by their loved ones and the general public. They do not want to be devalued. The way that individuals with mental illnesses are called “the mentally ill” in the media just makes the stigma even worse. This makes the person feel defined solely by their disability, which is inhumane. The person begins to feel less of a human being. In the media, they are viewed as being dangerous and violent, which results with inhumanity towards the individual. This just increases the negative stereotypes towards individuals with a mental
Mental disorders are really difficult for anyone to overcome. It can be hard dealing with this alone and expressing it to people because of the fear of being misunderstood. Often times, people can express anger and resentment but with the right surrounding anyone can over these issues.
Mass media “references to people with mental health problems found more than four in ten articles in the press used derogatory terms about mental health and nearly half of press coverage related mental illness to violence and crime” (Esseler, 244). This is causing for people to look down upon the mention of mental illnesses and many times ignore the importance of confronting this issue. Therefore the importance of removing this stigmatization is crucial. Education allows to make more informed decisions and then changing the perception of mental illness can lead towards policy changes toward the improvement of mental health (Sakellari,