MENTAL ILLNESS is just like any other illness and should be seen as a physical condition and not a social issue. Society treats a person suffering from a heart condition or diabetes differently than someone suffering from a mental illness.
This is not right. People suffering from mental illness should be treated equally and not marginalised or stigmatised. However they are stigmatised due misconceptions that have been around from the beginning of time.
The first misconception is that people who are in need of psychiatric care should be locked away in the Psychiatric Hospital. As a result patients who are hospitalised find it difficult to be reintegrated into society since many of their families refuse to take them back. As a society we have to dispel this myth by educating ourselves about mental illness learning that once the patient is on medication he/she can return to some normalcy.
The second misconception is that persons suffering from mental illness are hopeless and incompetent. This misconception has robbed people of the opportunity to have a normal life.
They are denied gainful employment and those who gain employment are sometimes given low wages and not treated fairly. In terms of locating accommodation many of the mentally ill are homeless and seek shelter at the Clyde Gollop Shelter or in substandard rental units.
Due to the stigma associated with mental illness many landlords, employers and individuals discriminate against persons with mental illness due to fear. Stigma sometimes creates a barrier for a mentally ill to live a “normal” life.
Therefore many patients develop negative self-esteem and avoid forming and interacting in social relationships.
In conclusion, eradiating stigma against the mentally ill will not be an easy task. however, we the citizens can start by stop using words such as crazy, mad, psycho, just to name a few.
The Government also needs to put a policy in place that protects the mentally ill from stigma and discrimination in the workplace and also make it mandatory that mental health and well-being are incorporated in the school’s curriculum.
– Akeem Modeste-James
