even my mom thinks that since im getting help im officially labeled crazy and she thinks im gonna get locked up in a padded room at a mental hospital.
Answer by E.T.
No one will ever completely understand. Just the way it is.
Answer by ƦєdAиgєℓ
If you said you had bipolar back in the 1990's...mental ward! :) Now you look on yahoo for instance and they are telling everyone and their dog they have it. lol Some are basically hoping they have it when you read their questions lol. Not surprisingly mental illness is a growing epidemic. Stress, poor diets lacking essential brain nutrients, fast foods (there were no fast foods when i was growing up bar the fish and chip shop), autoimmune diseases all contribute to mental illness. Did you know there is no mental illness or mental hospitals in the kindgom of Hunza in Pakistan. They live stress free, toxic free lives and eat natural, nutrient rich, unprocessed foods.
Answer by Janet712inEngland
Dear me... your mom! Well, she'll get over that.
I think you're very right in saying probably around 20-30 years for decreasing the stigma of mental illness. To be honest, it's getting a little better, especially since some famous personalities came out of the closet and started talking about their situations.
Perhaps you will be one of the ones to make a big impact on our understanding of mental illness and how we think about it. Here is a link to a YouTube video created by a young girl with Borderline Personality Disorder. I've subscribed to her site because I believe she can help dispel the myth that mental illness is the end of the world, etc. when of course, it isn't. There are many ways to break the stigma and maybe you'll think of one yourself!!!
Answer by I Love Richard KHC
People will never understand mental illness untill they are presented with it in someone they love. My husband is Bipolar and has Borderline Perosnality Disorder. My family doesn't understand him and just sees him as a crazy man. I see his struggles though and I love him dearly. People don't understand that they don't ask to be like this. They don't understand that if they went through some of the things that some people people that have been through they would be in the same situation. It's sad really, people are labeled as crazy and are given no compasion, just a label.
By the way, if you are a cutter, you might look into seeing if you have Borderline Personality Disorder. People that cut have a high chance of having it, and I mean the real people that cut, not the copy cats that want attention.
Answer by K.E.
I believe that we're making strides to improve the image of mental illness and bust the negative stigmas about it on a daily basis, and it's only going to continue getting better. Every day scientists are engaging in research that is highlighting the biological underpinnings of mental illness, proving that it is a DISEASE and not a character flaw. Psychologists are increasingly uncovering the environmental stressors that interact with the biological predisposition to illness, and are becoming better at identifying what factors may be causal in the development of mental illness, and what types of therapy can best help a patient recover and live a full, productive life.
More and more people are entering therapy - nowadays it is fairly normal for someone to speak to a counselor, it's not the taboo, hush-hush experience that it was even just 15 years ago. More people are being exposed to psychotropic drugs (drugs that affect mental health) too, for better or for worse, and few people will bat an eyelash if you say that you're on an antidepressant or ADHD medication. It is becoming more mainstream and more accepted as part of our culture, which it is - 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men will suffer from depression at some point in their lifetime, it is a huge part of our society and the fact that people are realizing and addressing this is reason for hope.
Television shows have specials about cutting and other forms of mental illness in teens (Saved By the Bell being one of the first, followed later by 7th Heaven) and prime time TV is beginning to address in greater depth the plight of mental illness in adults. Celebrities are coming out and telling their stories about mental illness, even working to break the stigma against it, such as Glenn Close, whose sister has bipolar disorder and nephew has schizoaffective disorder. Recently Demi Lovato, a Disney teen star, was hospitalized for self-harm and an eating disorder, showing teens that it's OKAY to ask for help when you have mental health problems.
I'm not trying to say that stigma isn't a problem, because it is. I have bipolar disorder and I try very, very hard to make sure people do not know unless I want them to. It has ruined relationships and cost me jobs, it is something I will deal with for the rest of my life. The last thing I need is to walk around with a "crazy woman" label slapped on me, as unfair as that label is, so I try not to let people know lest they prejudge me based on that one diagnosis. But compared to the way things have been in the past, I have seen a lot of improvement in my own little corner of the world, and I think that improvement is widespread and will only continue to get better. I am hopeful that one day people really will view mental illness the way they view diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis - unfortunate, annoying to deal with, but not in any way related to the person's character. An illness, period.
Hi,I did the following:
Stigma Mental Health Part 1
Dr. John Breeding, Ph.D. Psychologist, talks about mental health stigma. Visit Dr. Breedings website at www.wildestcolts.com This video was produced by psychetruth http www.livevideo.com www.myspace.com © Copyright 2007. John Breeding. All Rights Reserved.
Orignal From: how long do you think it will be before the mental health stigma isnt as bad as it currently is?
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