# MHApps Take Control – Stigma And Media – Overcoming Prejudice Preconceptions Discrimination

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- Stigma and The Media Mental Ill Health and the Media
  People experiencing mental ill health are often reluctant to discuss their illness with those outside their inner circle. A recent study into mental health attitudes in Ireland found that while 85% of people in Ireland feel that mental health problems can affect anyone, 62% would not want anyone to know if they had a mental health problem. This suggests that while most people accept that anyone can be affected by mental ill health, they would still be reluctant to let people know if they were experiencing mental ill health.
  The stigma surrounding mental illness prevents people from coming forward and seeking the help and support they need. It also means we are prevented from understanding the voices of those experiencing mental ill health and recovery. As a result, much of what we learn about people with mental illness comes to us through the filter of the media. Many of our attitudes will have been shaped by articles we have read or TV and movie portrayals of mental illness. Chances are that until someone accesses the mental health services or a support service, their main source of information about mental health and mental ill health has been the media. This is a cause of concern, as media portrayals of mental illness often do not reflect the reality of mental illness.
  The most frequently sited source of information about mental health in Ireland is newspapers. This shows just how important a role the media play in informing our attitudes and awareness of mental health. Unfortunately, the media does not always reflect the true experiences of those with mental ill health, and media reports often reinforce negative perceptions and attitudes towards mental illness.
  Media reports often sensationalise mental illness by linking mental illness with violence, despite the fact that mental illness alone does not make someone more dangerous. Recent research conducted by the University of North Carolina found that a person with severe mental illness without substance abuse and a history of violence has the same chances of being violent during the next 3 years as any other person in the general population. Even where substance abuse is present the risk of violence is still lower than the risk associated with various other factors. Media pieces can also contribute to the misinformation surrounding various mental illnesses. For example schizophrenia is often confused with multiple personality disorder and spilt personality in media portrayals.
  Media portrayals often fail to get the message that recovery from mental ill health is possible and that there are supports available. There is a need for the true experiences of people with mental ill health to be told.

- Support groups can be a good way to build up your knowledge and develop ways to manage your mental ill health. People who attend support groups hear about them from a number of sources; by word of mouth, from members of their multi-disciplinary team, family members, talks within the hospital and newspaper advertisements. It is becoming increasingly common for people to research on the Internet and find support contact details there, or log into blog sites.

- One of the main difficulties encountered by people who are in a psychiatric hospital for any length of time above a few weeks, is the danger of being institutionalised. People in hospital are often denied the ability to choose, due to the routine of the ward. This can of course be comforting, but it is surprising how quickly an unchanging daily schedule can become disabling. How you spent your day and life outside the hospital becomes more and more a memory, and because your own skills are used less, people become unsure of their own ability to make the right choices.

- “I statements” are one of the most important things I have learned from Shine meetings. I use them all the time now. Rather than me screaming back accusing her of being a brat or saying things like you make me so angry, or you have upset me, I now say, “I feel sad when I cannot support you”, or “I feel cross when the food I cook is just left there”. This way of talking helps me to know what I am feeling and it personalises it. Whereas “you make me feel” statements are a confrontational way of talking and will invariably lead to a row. It sounds a bit silly maybe but it works, most of the time!”

- “We didn’t know what to think when Brian started attending the support group. We went to speak to a regional development officer with Shine, and he told us what a peer support group was and how they work. More importantly, he gave us information about bipolar disorder that was easy to understand, filling us in on what the possibilities were. We were also given a bit of information about how to manage things, which other relatives found helpful. I think we were lucky to run across them so early on, because I met another woman who said she had only found out about things for families after years of struggling on their own. It was a never-ending source of amazement to her that her child could access a community mental health nurse, nobody told them. She is now a firm believer in “she who shouts loudest gets heard first”.”

- “I was worried about going home. Don’t get me wrong, I love my children, but I feel so guilty, ashamed and weak for having a mental illness, that I can’t look my children in the eye.”
  “When I am at home my wife keeps looking at me as if waiting for me to burst into flames or something. It was not until I asked her to give me a bit of space and told her that I will let her know if I am feeling bad or unwell that she kind of understood. I know she’s just worried. She agreed, and we started talking about how I was feeling. It was great to be able to talk in an honest open way; it actually took an awful lot of pressure off me. We decided to form a plan of action in case, well in case things got a bit dodgy, like I began to find it difficult to cope.”

- If you see, read or hear something in the media, which you feel is stigmatising to people with experience of mental ill health, there are a variety of actions you can take and organisations, which you can make a complaint to.
  HEADLINE - the national media monitoring programme for mental health and suicide works to promote accurate and responsible media coverage of mental health and suicide related issues. You can contact Headline about media pieces, which you feel deserve attention, and Headline will either support you in making a complaint or take action directly.
  01 8279022
  www.headline.ie info@headline.ie.
  Other relevant organisations are listed at the back of this guide.

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