For Many, Stigma of Mental Illness Lingers

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"Corrigan believes the answer -- or at least part of it -- lies in stories, "having people with a condition tell their story."
This is absolutely the best way to reduce stigma and encourage others to seek help. I have been writing about mental illness and Bipolar Disorder for years. The most common response I get is, "I am so glad to find this blog and to find there are others like me."
I consistently write about Bipolar Survivors; how they are successful contributing members of our society.
Great article, and addition to our fight against the stigma and later our road to recovery for those who need it.
mercurialmindbipolarblog.blogspot.com

L.G. Larsen of CA 10:03AM November 28, 2010

We begin by deleting the use of the adjective mental when describing or identifying many illnesses.
An illness is an illness and should be respected equally.

Nielsen 1:27AM November 26, 2010

We need to teach behavior modification techniques. Need to replace the bad words with positive words.
Mental Health problems are spiraling up in every nook and corner. It's time to heal the world. You can draw some tips on how to cope with mental problems from http://www.moxiementalhealth.com

katrina of UT 12:40AM November 26, 2010

In Pennsylvania resources are needed desperately, staff education, consumer education and empowerment. No one appears to care and i have advocated to many people. Its a disgrace.

Dori of PA 11:55AM November 24, 2010

I think people would be surprised to find out how much mental illness affects their friends and family members, and how many people hide it because of stigma.
I’ve been in recovery for an eating disorder for 11 years, and my husband was diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years ago as a result of a severe psychotic episode. We’re both very high functioning people with good jobs, a great marriage, a nice home, and a baby on the way. From the outside, you’d never know that either one of us ever struggled with mental illness.
I don't share our stories with everyone, but when I feel it could be helpful to someone else, I absolutely open up. (I also blog about how mental illness has affected our marriage at http://heatherwhistler.wordpress.com/ if you want to check it out.)
Re: education, I think it would be awesome to educate incoming college students about the symptoms and signs of psychosis. Most kids get eating disorder education in junior high or high school, but most aren't introduced to the issue of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Because these illnesses tend to strike young adults of college age, increased education would not only help decrease stigma, but it would also help college kids faced with their first psychotic epiode get help sooner. The sooner you get help for psychosis, the better the outlook for long-term recovery.

Heather Whistler of NV 10:56AM November 24, 2010

My peers and I were told that the "biological basis for mental illness" argument would lead to the eradication of stigma. Early on the work of Phelan suggested otherwise. We were left with the medicalization of mental illnesses where services and supports took a rear seat to medication and medication alone is so often treatment in its entirety.
It is similarly tragic that there is considerable demand for inspiring one person narratives by individuals who have recovered from their mental illnesses is viewed as a cure for stigma. Broader interaction between mental health consumers and the general community is required. After all, most provider agencies assert that they promote true community integration. Narratives also betray the grim reality the mental illness is our nation's number one disabling condition and also its fastest growing disabled population (SSD/SSDI) in what has been long called the "Era of Recovery" and more recently the "Era of Recovery & Wellness."
We are increasingly left with a prolonged (nee' persistent, nee' chronic) mental health consumer population viewed as having failed a putatively transformed mental health system which leads to yet another pernicious source of stigma. What stigma accrues to those who fail what is represented as evidence based, best practices treatment when it is not understood that failure is so often the predominate outcome?
[Consider this article from the October 2010 edition of the American Psychiatric Association's publication Psychiatric Services: A New Direction in Depression Treatment in Minnesota. Here in the case of depression 96.2% didn't recover. Not surprising in light of Kessler's work.
"The problem with clinical depression is that treatment often is ineffective. Only 5.8% of patients with clinical depression have symptom remission within six months of treatment, according to a Minnesota study of 184 primary care and behavioral health clinics conducted by MN Community Measurement, the state's public reporting agency."]

Mark of NJ 10:41AM November 24, 2010

I work in the area of substance abuse, addiction and secondhand drinking (SHD) prevention, education and intervention and have found similar approaches as suggested here work better -- personal stories and telling them to key power groups: family law attorneys, domestic violence personnel, emergency room doctors, medical school students and military personnel, for example. And, I've also found that the science behind the brain changes caused by substance abuse, addiction and SHD to be compelling for audiences - especially that which shows the brain can change; it can heal.

Lisa Frederiksen - breakingthecycles.com of CA 10:18AM November 24, 2010