Not every single thing I see about mental illness on the news is a bad influence for how others may view sufferers. One thing I do find disheartening that due to some of the way news report latch on to the term “mental illness” (and what it might include) may have a negative effect on the reluctance of people who may be suffering alone to seek out treatment and the right help. I am sure there are people who feel they need someone to talk to and express their thoughts and feelings of odd behaviors they may be having. Many may be afraid or unconvinced for lack of information on how illnesses can affect a person. Not to mention others who mislead people into a dark spiral with wrong information. Somewhere down the road there has to be more general learning when it comes to mental illness.
There is tons of research on this topic. Patrick Corrigan has written like over a dozen books about stigma. Give them a read if you have time! I don’t!
Tha Media Doesn’t Talk About Mental Illness ,
Unless It’s About Some Sort Of Violent Cryme … ,
zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZ (.)
Good to know but i’d like to hear your personal thoughts on the matter. However if you do not like discussing these things feel free not to.
The media loves a scapegoat! HE WAS CRAZY OMG LIKE THAT ■■■■■■ MOVIE I WATCHED HES ONE OF THEM!!!.. ignorant ■■■■■, we’re more often victims of crime than perpetrators (I wrote a term paper on this).
Christian Bale playing a Wall Street Harvard grad narcissistic psychopath who murders hookers and ■■■■. Yeah that’s me, I use all of my intellectual and physical capacity to murder people and make money.
I’m a psychology student and I workout to prove that we are capable of extreme physical activity. I used to be a powerlifter, that ■■■■ was insane, like lifting 500lbs repetitively, yeah, now I just workout for strength and a little for size. I don’t have time to do powerlifting these days, that and it’s terribly dangerous and I got seriously injured squatting one time but recovered in two months.
I instead study psychology because I want to work in a mental hospital with acutely ill patients like I was, I owe my life to the field. I might move on to being a psychotherapist or professor but what I owe is ten years of working in a hospital with psychotic people.
People don’t get it- I am VERY potentially dangerous, I have experience fighting and have belts in hand to hand combat, I was at a prep school getting ready for ROTC. I know how to smoke someone with or without a weapon and stay in shape to do so, and I DONT HURT ANYONE. I do that to make a point- my body and mind are lethal, but I am not actually dangerous- like a domesticated and imprinted beast. Like a pitbull. Potentially dangerous, actually quite tame and even sweet sometimes.
In the meantime I research stigma. Im working on a thesis as an undergrad, its a little perk for being an honors student, I get to do what is awfully similar to a master’s thesis- empirical research.
I know prejudice and discrimination quite well…as part of my research I read the fundamental works on prejudice (Allport 1954, Jones 1984) and contemporary works as well.
I actually know the crap pretty well, I even call normal people “normies” on here…Allport said that we are using ego defenses when we do that- ch. 9 of The Nature of Prejudice- all about reactions of victims of prejudice. It was written in psychodynamic times, before psychology is what it is today, to say the least and be polite.
The media doesnt do us much good. Accurate movies about scz are few and far between. They ■■■■■■ up the true story of John Nash real good with that movie. Read the book instead.
Local news will drag thru the mud anybody who has committed a crime and schizophrenics are seen as being misfits like these criminals so the public can’t separate the two in their minds.
As long as people with sz are commiting random violent acts , even if they are few and far between , this stigma is not likely to go away anytime soon.
Indeed we are demonized. I think it has to do with news reporting for ratings here. There are some positive reports though!
I saw one of a group of veterans who cope with PTSD doing a form of yoga. Also others who come back and regain ability to get a civilian job. It is inspiring to know there are people who beat thoughts that are difficult to process. It is also commendable that they support one another. Hopefully, someday it helps remind people that we know what it feels like to be looked at like there is something wrong with us for a label placed upon us even though we are not veterans (some of you here are, my deepest respects). May veterans find their happiness again.
I get so tired of the media in most everything…
They have to sell the catastrophic… the put the judge and jury out on an incident even before the investigators have all the facts.
I’d love to see a movie about a man fighting off negative symptoms… but that probably wouldn’t be dynamic enough.
I also feel the media in this country tends to avoid certain important issues due to controversial opposing views. It would be nice if they did a bit more investigative journalism on cases involving mental illnesses. For example, what was the person doing before the crime occurred. It did a good job with one of the current cases. The report on the other tragedy that occurred recently is a bit lacking. Sounds like someone may have been disenchanted with the current state of modern western society. It focuses more on the illness than what led to the horrendous act. The person in that case was clearly suffering from symptoms though as he thought he was an imaginary character. One issue I find should be more brought up is finding the answer to why these despicable acts are able to happen and why they appear to be increasing. The answer is clear…
I know there is a thread on here about modeling your coming out as schizophrenic after the process of coming out as gay. I came out as gay to some friends in high school. No one was surprised. My family never shamed me, but I did have to deal with dumb questions from time to time. I had it easier than most for sure, but I still feel unsafe. I live in a college town and there is a good mix of liberals and conservatives. Sometimes I feel looked at. I fit a lesbian stereotype pretty well I think, it is what it is. Sometimes I feel like I may get my ass kicked and there have been times I’ve been scoffed at and stared down. I know that anytime I experience anything negative as a result of sexual orientation I have a community to fall back on. I don’t feel this way about my schizoaffective disorder. My family’s response has been a huge source of stress. When making new friends I know the fact that I am gay will come up and the people I choose as friends don’t care and then we go about our business. I am terrified to make any mention of my past with schizoaffective even though it’s been a huge part of me since I was a kid. When I meet new potential partners I feel scared. I am a touch socially awkward but I’m personable and im pursued often. But I feel a pit when I hit it off with someone and think that at some point I will have to drop this bomb. I try to feel it out with them and maybe casually throw in something about schizophrenia or media portrayal to get a gauge. People who don’t have direct contact with schizophrenia are by default getting a lot of their “facts” from sources that are hardly reliable. I think a lot of it is ignorance. I try to see if I hit it off with someone enough that the segue is casual. Then I ease them in. It’s a lot to handle at once. I also don’t want her to immediately think she’d have to end up my caretaker if something went long term. The media is regurgitating words that float around and attract an audience. The messenger is the face of the news. They aren’t the ones seeing the damage they are doing by continuing the lies.
I still believe people need to be educated world wide on the fact that being homosexual is NOT a mental illness.
I think a lot of the stigma comes from a similar source. It’s fear that is fabricated from centuries of ignorance. Straight men often feel intimidated by lesbians for example. Or if you’re in the locker room at the gym you’re surely watching everyone change. Like you have nothing better to do. People think if you’re schizophrenic you will attack or run through the streets screaming. They are insensitive and I doubt many people have even stopped to really think about what being schizophrenic means or the struggles that are magnified by stigma. I think if you asked 100 people to explain what schizophrenia is, on average at least 98 would be dead wrong.
The sad truth… a sufferer of schizophrenia is far more likely to commit suicide than commit a murder. The crime rates among patients who are under some form of treatment and especially aren’t under the influence of some mind altering substance are about the same as the general population as far as committing crimes.
Many people who commit suicide become lost statistics whether or not they are schizophrenic. People don’t see it because it’s not broadcast. When someone who is schizophrenic commits a crime it’s a convenient explanation. After all, if he’s crazy we don’t have to worry about finding any sort of motive or social influence that lead to the crime - that sort of thinking. The bulk of the population doesn’t go around caring about strangers they never knew existed who have taken their lives. Sure they can empathize, but if it’s not a threat to them they aren’t even aware. Violent crime is a threat regardless.
True, suicide can be a result of bullying and/or depression among other things. It hurts the very core of my being. As far as violent crime being a threat… overall world crime rates are at an all-time low per capita. It’s the excessive continuation of war (includes civil war) that causes most casualties, including crimes as a result of poverty and no peace keepers also in part because of ethnocentric gang-like mentality due to profits clouded by propanganda which influences the youth with the notion that is a religious cause in a particular order, an example would be the poppy fields in the middle east. Another example is the indoctrination by certain gangs/groups that suggest superiority due to being born in a particular place or certain divisive territory brought on with the stupid idea that a person can somehow own the world we walk on. Ultimately most crime comes because of the “get yours first” mentality when it comes to money. It spikes in country’s and cities throughout the world but in the end, the majority of people in the world do not commit violent crimes daily nor with much frequency throughout the most highly populated places in the world, as well as in places with smaller towns/villages. It is not inherently because of religion, matter of fact if we truly believed the idea of brotherhood (includes sisterhood as far as i’m concerned) that many world religions teach can and should be things would be better. Sadly it comes from a lack of understanding and acceptance that we are all unique and different mostly due to men seeking power over others not power to HELP others. That does not mean we cannot relate.
All true. It’s a threat in that it’s sensaionalized and publicized. It often appears random and therefore often evokes this instinctive alert. It’s also irrational, just as fear of someone who has schizophrenia is irrational. But no one is even stopping to consider that, they are just letting the adrenaline pump.
People are so afraid of serial killers and mass murderers. While these are legitimate fears, being a victim of theirs is very unlikely. There is a statistic that says something like you are more likely to be struck by lightning that killed by a serial killer. Yet people are more afraid of this than things they should be afraid of. Actual threats that they have a better chance of identifying. The media is focused on making money. You have numerous sources competing for the same audience, if they want views, they have to sell a story and that often means a gimmick.
I read most of that I’m woman non distinct I like what you said.
yeah i know what you mean, my friend said she saw a good film with Robin Williams about mental illness and she said it was good, she said they gave him a drug that helped him but i think it wore off.
a lot of things in the media are kind of demonising mi but there are a few things that are good like timetotalk http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/timetotalkday and other media campaigns that acknowledge that it is a real problem and it needs to be handled with care.