As people, we all experience a different perspective from one another, we act upon our feelings distinctively. We can agree that some of us have encountered inconveniences that’ve ruined our whole day or mood in general but are we open about our feelings, do we want someone to listen to what we have to say? When it comes to people with mental health problems, their feelings and the way they think vary from someone mentally stable, because they are aware of their vulnerability. No matter who you are, mental health issues can occur to anyone and it’s possible to recover and manage. But why is it that when someone is open about their mental health, it always results in a discriminating attitude towards the person, usually giving them the psychiatric label? In this society people like to save their empathy for other illnesses or immediately decide that being institutionalized is the right way to treat someone with mental problems even though it may be ineffective or inhumane. There’s also a problem on the way severe mental illnesses are approached. Instead of being treated, they are incarcerated because they’ve react violently and are seen as a danger to the world. This is the industry’s fault for focusing more on spending money and time researching less serious mental problems such as anxiety or depression instead of gaining new knowledge for treating severe mental illnesses as well as providing an environment for people with mental health issues to become comfortable with seeking treatment. Mental health is stigmatized creating a toxic environment for people who are struggling with their mental health, because there’s a lack of knowledge, which results in people feeling excluded, eventually incarcerated as they’re viewed as a danger, and damaging one another . A solution to reduce discrimination is encouraging behaviors that make it possible for people to become comfortable with disclosing their issues.
Throughout the years, people who have been diagnosed with a mental health issue have been treated as if they’re less of a person as if their feelings aren’t valid because they aren’t mentally stable. When it comes to the stigma produced by stereotypes and discrimination, “Stigma, as it relates to mental illness, can be conceptualized as including the following five domains: self stigma, help seeking stigma, associative stigma, public stigma, and anticipated stigma” (Allison Crowe et al. 99). When someone stigmatizes themselves because of negative attitudes, it usually results in the person contemplating about their self worth as well as obtaining a low self esteem, this is what’s considered self-stigma. Experiencing stigma because you’re open about seeking treatment for your mental health struggle is referred to as help-seeking stigma. Stigma from friends or family is described as associative stigma. The reaction that others portray towards mental health is referred to as public or cultural stigma. Nondisclosure of mental health will not bring stigma but disclosing and anticipating stigma is described as anticipated stigma. The different kinds of stigma that people experience can be damaging to the person experiencing it. (98) The stigma can make their issues aggravate as well as avoid treatment because they don’t want to be seen as less of a person since they’re struggling with their mental healt. Not only do these people have to struggle with symptoms that impact their life negatively but have to struggle with others’ prejudice. One’s mental health can be dealt with just like any other illness. But why is one ridiculed more than the other? If someone with cancer doesn’t find treatment then their situation intensifies. Same thing corresponds with mental health, if it’s untreated, their behavior gets much worse throughout time. This is when they eventually turn into a danger to others and themselves. The problem is mental health is stigmatized which makes it harder for people to seek help and this had it’s effects.
There’s no support when it comes to mental health, which leads to people feeling like outsiders. Esther Calzada, a clinical child psychologist, shares her experience of her son experiencing seclusion by his high school. Calzada’s son is diagnosed with depression and was suspended for his behavior. This shows how the adults don’t understand mental health and punishes them instead of trying to ease what’s causing the behavior. She asserts facts about the U.S Department of Eduction, saying that the educational system either punishes, suspends, or expels twice the amount of students with mental disorders than those without. Calzada shares another incident concerning both her older and younger son being witnessed by school administration. Calzada’s older son pushed her younger son in their school hallway and they reported her older son being “emotionally disturbed” as well as filing a police report. An investigation initiated for neglect, physical abuse and emotional abuse. The school ended up suspending him. The education system not only excludes students with mental disorders but denies them of opportunity. There’s students out there who can accomplish great things for themselves but are denied because of their “challenging” behavior.
With mass shootings, mental health stigma has intensified. Someone mentally ill is no longer institutionalized but instead incarcerated. According to Dr. Salley Satel, a psychiatrist at the American Enterprise Institute and an expert in mental health policy states, “ Those with severe mental illnesses can’t really function and participate in life” (Stepman). These are the people who are populating prisons because the support for the mental health system doesn’t exist. These people aren’t getting treatment because we’re unaware of the distinction between mental illnesses and mental problems. Not everyone with a mental disorder is dangerous. We don’t have knowledge of this distinction because there’s been more research upon disorders with less serious symptoms. DJ Jaffe, executive director of Mental Illness Policy Organization, states, “The studies show treatment works, now more no less. And the industry knows mentally ill are, . . . ignore that” (Stepman). With lack of support towards the mentally ill, the industry has mislead Americans into thinking that everyone who is diagnosed is all the same and dangerous to society. If more money addresses severe mental illness then this could decrease stigma. With more knowledge, people’s attitudes would perhaps change into being more empathetic towards mental disorders. This would allow the mentally ill to feel comfortable with seeking treatment so their behavior doesn’t aggravate. Which would avoid leading them to becoming a danger to themselves and others.
Negative attitudes towards mental health can be damaging to the person experiencing it. With no support, suicide ideation rises. In a study from, “Mental Stigma: Personal and Cultural Impacts on Attitudes”, asserts perceptions from participants regarding the negative view that the mentally ill are a burden to society, they stated that the mentally ill don’t contribute to the rest of society like others do. They aren’t able to get a job, affect the economy, and because of that everyone else has to pay for it. With these views, it shows that the person going through mental problems isn’t the only one who’s “wrong” but the people making these claims are too. With views like these the people struggling with their mental health start to fear not only their mental health but fear social rejection. Perhaps for some, the most efficient way to avoid all the ridicule and rejection is to just end their life. There’s a stigma because a range of care options for people with mental disorders doesn’t exist.
Incarcerating the mentally ill is not the type of mental health system we need. According to E. Fuller Torrey, the executive director of Stanley Medical Research Institute, states, “Individuals in prison and jails have a right to receive medical care, and this right pertains to serious mental illness just as it pertains to tuberculosis, diabetes, or hypertension” (Torrey par. 1) The solution for the mentally ill populating prisons would be to establish a mental health treatment system to avoid the mentally ill ending up in prisons. Inmates need care too and should be treated just the same as the inmates with other medical conditions who receive their medical treatment. According to the New York Times article, “The Crazy Talk About Asylums”, “Deinstitutionalization was predicted on the 1963 Mental Health Act, which was supposed to create well-staffed, well funded community health centers in about . . . community outreach” (Board par.7) Around the time President John F. Kennedy estimated when he announced this legislation that these people who were living within state psychiatric hospitals, would be treated and returned to obtain a normal role in society. Unfortunately, the State didn’t devote on their savings and resulted in 750 centers built but never funded. Currently, the same issue is implied. There’s a small amount of facilities for the mentally ill and instead are being kept in prisons. But they shouldn’t bring back such institutes that were viewed as inhumane but instead learn from the institutes that were shut down and bring awareness to solutions the Mental Health Parity. People would start taking mental health a lot more serious if congress did a lot more for it. But instead are ridiculing people who struggle with their mental health because they’re the cause of all this violence happening in America. The ones who cause mass shooting are identified as mentally ill and end up incarcerated instead of receiving treatment. These inmates can also lead to further research about severe mental illnesses which can result more information about how to approach the stigma.
Mental health doesn’t have to be approached politically but can begin through the educational system. Most of us are knowledgable about academic subjects thanks to the education we’ve receive. But perhaps educators should spread more knowledge regarding mental health, “Educators report that they have limited time and training to deal with mental health issues. Their focus rightly . . . undertaking in itself” (Calzada par. 11) Are educators aware that they must engage students into the subjects they’re teaching and some of their student may have a mental disorder? The students with these disorders can often end up with low grades because they’re not engaged. As well as either punished, suspended, or expelled because they’re looked at as if they’re behavior is intentional but they can’t help it. This is where the educational system should take place and invest into having services for students who are struggling with their mental health. Schools spend more money when it comes to all the dropouts. Providing an environment in school that encourage student to reach out and take advantage of these services would also reduce stigma. These student would no longer be criminalized based on their behavior that sometimes they can’t help because of their disorder
If people would perhaps be open about mental health on social media, then we can spread knowledge to one another about the struggles and eventually decrease the stereotypical and negative views towards mental health. There’s people struggling not only with their mental health but society’s negative attitudes. These people are criminalized for behavior they can’t help because it’s a symptom of their disorder. They can either get incarcerated because they’ve lived their life without any treatment and has evolved into a danger to society. Or end up ending their life because of the isolation they’ve experienced cause by the stigma. Others should be more empathic towards mental disorders because anyone can struggle with their mental health. It’s doesn’t matter how high of an ego the person has because eventually it gets to you, that you can’t overcome this on your own. Eventually you’ll want to seek treatment and once you’re in the same shoes as the person you were ridiculing, you’ll want avoid the negativity as well. We should become concern about the people who don’t take advantage of services because of the stigma and eventually these services vanish because no one is utilizing them. With no treatment to seek or services, these people dealing with their mental health will becoming a danger to themselves or others. Throughout social media we should bring awareness to treatment, express how treatment does work and makes it easier to live your life like the rest of society does. Anyone can contribute to decrease this stigma and as a community we can empower the psychotic label that’s been shaming mental health. By facing other stigma we can help others with self stigma, to have no shame in their struggles.