Progress In Defeating Mental Illness

Mental illnesses strike all ages, genders, ethnic groups, races and nationalities. These illnesses cannot be overcome through will power alone and are not related to a person's character or intelligence.

Falling along a continuum of severity, the National Institute of Health reports that 25 percent of the adult population will experience a mental health disorder in a given year; one in six of those will be seriously debilitating. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, 10 percent of children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders that affect their day-to-day lives both at home and school.

But there is good news. The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports.

Changing Attitudes and Changing Lives

Silence and stigma are the great conspirators that keep many from diagnosis, treatment and recovery. It can be defeated. October 2- 8 is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year is ”Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives.”  As the largest mental health advocacy organization in the U.S., the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website has a list of things we each can do to end some of the myths surrounding mental illness. We’ve mentioned NAMI before in this blog as they are one of the community organizations that use Silver Hill for meetings each week. I hope you become more familiar with them, and encourage you to look at their website.

Watching a Movie May Help Stamp Out Stigma

There was one suggestion that I thought particularly effective because we can all participate and is not at all threatening -- watch a movie. While there are many good movies that have tackled various aspects of mental illness, NAMI recommends these because they can help to educate, inform and perhaps give all of us a better understanding what it is like to be mentally ill. Moreover, these movies make it easier to see that even those of us with a disorder can make significant contributions to society. Arguably, the world would be a better place if we could learn to take advantage of the talents of everyone.

The movies below are either made for TV documentaries or PG-13. Several have resources listed on their websites and one even has with educational guides for high school students. You will need to exercise your own parental discretion as well:

• A Beautiful Mind
• Canvas
• Out of the Shadow
• People Say I’m Crazy
• The Soloist
• Unlisted
• When Medicine Got It Wrong
  

You may also find these two books from the Silver Hill Patient Library useful:

Don't Call Me Nuts: Coping with the Stigma of Mental Illness
Patrick Corrigan

What Every Patient, Family, Friend, and Caregiver Needs to Know about Psychiatry
Richard Roukema

There was a time when mental illness was not at all understood and was feared. But we know more now. With all the advances in medical care, there is no need to be afraid. There are many ways to help reduce the stigma. We can each start by taking small steps, admitting to and then changing any disparaging attitude we hold. When we do, we will increase the likelihood that people in need of treatment seek it. And as these movies so excellently portray, we will all benefit.  

      --- Sig

Silver Hill Hospital’s blog is intended only to provide information; it is not intended to provide diagnosis or treatment. If this is an emergency, please call 911.