Anthropology - Mental Illness

Mental Illness: Silencing the Stigma

What I knew about mental illness before this project was very limited. I mean besides the T.V. shows that portray a bleak life for people with mental illness. Images of individuals with mental illness aren’t always so in your face. Subtle stereotypes pervade the media regularly. I had minimal knowledge as to what types of mental illness there were. All I knew was that there were general perceptions about these people. Just the other day before the presentations, I saw this program on television with a mentally ill (schizophrenia) person locked up in isolation. It depicted on the person’s mental stated being very poor as if she was about to kill someone and was very violent. Whether it’s a graphic depiction or an insinuating remark, the media often paint a grim and inaccurate picture. What I learned from this project is very helpful to me as to how I will interpret people having any psychological disorders. I became aware of the social stigmas, the lies and truths behind it, and the facts that support each topic of illnesses. Each time I came around to watch my classmates’ presentation boards, I learn something new about mental illness. I know now that one in four people will be affected by mental illness, whether it’s their own personal struggle or that of a family member. I know now that there are many treatment options. For example, I learned that schizophrenia affects more than 2.2 million people in the United States and 28% of those people live independently. Finally, we have learned that persons with serious mental illness, like all other people, find themselves affected by a number of influences when trying to find and keep meaningful employment. Some of these influences are in their control, but many are not. The answer to those influences may not be the same for most people but it can be confirmed by an actual person living with a mental disorder, for that I recall our trip to CAMH. CAMH is the acronym for Centre for Mental Health, which is located in downtown Toronto. When the class went on the trip we came across 3 people who had a specific mental illness. Now they were all fine and stable when they did their speeches but what surprised me was how they developed their mental condition. One woman said that an experience with her grandma getting a seizure traumatized her and triggered her OCD. Her obsessiveness with checking things made her come back home about 20+ times just to check if her door was locked, her hair iron was off or her stove was turned off. What I learned from my group’s presentation and research about OCD is that of all persons with disabilities, those with a serious mental illness face the highest degree of stigmatization in the workplace and the greatest barriers to employment. Many and varied employment obstacles face adults with psychiatric disabilities, such as gaps in work history, limited employment experience, lack of confidence, fear and anxiety, workplace discrimination and inflexibility, social stigma and the rigidity of existing income support/benefit programs. The unemployment rate of persons with serious mental illness reflect these obstacles and has been commonly reported to range from 70-90% depending on the severity of the disability. With all of my questions about mental illness and its stigma I am glad to know that, remember that the media aren’t the only source of stereotypes and stigma and that most of the people affected with any of the diseases wound off doing very well in life, whether they are successful in their career or triumphant in their own families and lives. I will also remember to STOP THE STIGMA since this is what this topic is about. I will try to influence all the people in my life constructively. Whenever I hear people say things that show they do not really understand mental illness, I will use the opportunity to share with them some of the information that I have.

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Margaux Gaerlan

Mental Illness: Silencing the Stigma