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STIGMA AND ABUSEMental illness knows no age limits, economic status, creed, color, or race. It can strike anyone. Our brain, like any other organ, is vulnerable to disease. Doctors continue to solve some of the mysteries of the brain, but many of its functions remain a puzzle. It has been discovered that mental illness is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, and there have been many advancements in the treatment of these illnesses. Since many people with mental illnesses suffer from behavioral symptoms, they are often thought of differently than those with physical illness. Instead of compassion and support, many people with mental illnesses are greeted by unsympathetic, unfair, or hostile responses. This intolerance is due to the stigma that accompanies mental illness. Society often perceives people with mental illnesses as strange, scary, or even dangerous. The media is responsible for much of the misconceptions regarding people with mental illnesses. Television and newspapers stress a history of mental illness in the backgrounds of people who commit violent crimes. Comedians use the disabilities of people with mental illnesses as a source of humor. Advertisements use stigmatizing images as promotional gimicks in order to sell products. Movies use mental illnesses to sensationalize plots. The most common, and often the most hurtful, form of abuse of the mentally ill is people's perception and the things they say. Most people think they are being helpful, but their words are hurtful nonetheless. Thoughtless sayings can wound, fester, and scar the minds of people with mental illnesses. Here are a few of the common sayings, and how they are perceived by the mentally ill: SAYING: It's all in your head. PERCEPTION: I don't believe in that psychiatric nonsense. You are making an excuse for poor behavior, or you are completely deluded. SAYING: We all go through times like this. PERCEPTION: You are overreacting. You can't handle life as well as I can. SAYING: Just shake out of it. PERCEPTION: You've created this problem for yourself. Just get over it and move on. You can help reduce stigma by treating people with mental illnesses as individuals. Learn about the person, and deal with them based on knowledge, not assumptions. Challenge false statements about mental illness. Many people have wrong and damaging ideas about the subject, and accurate information could change their ideas and actions. Do what you can to help the mentally ill reenter society by giving them what they need most, a chance.
BY RICHARD SUTPHEN
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 BipolarConnection
2001 - 2008
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