Mental Illness in America living with the Misconception:
The misconception of mental illness in America is often ignored; many people dismiss the issue of mental health conditions, meanwhile others are aware of the conditions yet do nothing to raise awareness. When mental conditions are being acknowledged, the diseases are often mocked for entertainment purposes, misrepresented online and on television. There are many misconceptions surrounding mental illnesses and these misconceptions are caused from social media, social stigma, and the lack of awareness. Leading to even more suffering from those individuals who already have enough to deal with. The mentally ill not only have to manage their illness and navigate the specific trials and stressors …show more content…
“People with mental health problems say that the social stigma attached to mental ill health and the discrimination they experience can make their difficulties worse and make it harder to recover.” (Mental Health Foundation, 2017) The entertainment industry is to blame for this since they often stereotype those who are affected by psychological disorders. On television, they are often portrayed as “crazy”, “criminals” or are a danger towards other people but are more at risk of being harmed/harming themselves than harming others. Either way, that’s not the message that should be sent out because it indubitably affects them and those around them. The media is not only making a mockery out of those who are actually experiencing such things, but they are also making them seem like bad people. If the misrepresentation of them fails to improve, then people are never going to distinguish between the stereotype and …show more content…
“More than 90% of children who commit suicide have a mental health condition” (NAMI, 2016) additional consequences from lack of treatment is that approximately 18-22 veterans die by suicide, 37% of students with a mental illness 14+ drop out of special education – the highest dropout rate of any disability group – and people living with serious mental health conditions are at high risk of having chronic medical conditions. In order to lower these statistics, the effects of untreated psychological disorders should be acknowledged and presented
The misconception of mental illness in America is often ignored; many people dismiss the issue of mental health conditions, meanwhile others are aware of the conditions yet do nothing to raise awareness. When mental conditions are being acknowledged, the diseases are often mocked for entertainment purposes, misrepresented online and on television. There are many misconceptions surrounding mental illnesses and these misconceptions are caused from social media, social stigma, and the lack of awareness. Leading to even more suffering from those individuals who already have enough to deal with. The mentally ill not only have to manage their illness and navigate the specific trials and stressors …show more content…
“People with mental health problems say that the social stigma attached to mental ill health and the discrimination they experience can make their difficulties worse and make it harder to recover.” (Mental Health Foundation, 2017) The entertainment industry is to blame for this since they often stereotype those who are affected by psychological disorders. On television, they are often portrayed as “crazy”, “criminals” or are a danger towards other people but are more at risk of being harmed/harming themselves than harming others. Either way, that’s not the message that should be sent out because it indubitably affects them and those around them. The media is not only making a mockery out of those who are actually experiencing such things, but they are also making them seem like bad people. If the misrepresentation of them fails to improve, then people are never going to distinguish between the stereotype and …show more content…
“More than 90% of children who commit suicide have a mental health condition” (NAMI, 2016) additional consequences from lack of treatment is that approximately 18-22 veterans die by suicide, 37% of students with a mental illness 14+ drop out of special education – the highest dropout rate of any disability group – and people living with serious mental health conditions are at high risk of having chronic medical conditions. In order to lower these statistics, the effects of untreated psychological disorders should be acknowledged and presented