Mental Health Policy And Practice - Report Example

Stigmatization of Mental Health Patients Student Name Institution Affiliation There is perhaps no doubt that the prevalence of mental disorders has risen in the past years owing to lifestyle changes which have continued to impact negatively on the health of the population. In fact, according to the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health (2014), it is estimated that about 45% of the Australian population will experience mental illness at one point in their lives. However, what is worrying about these growing figures stems from the fact that the public remains insufficiently alert to the effects some of the behaviors they project towards those with mental illness could have on their health and general wellbeing. Patients suffering from mental problems have been forced to struggle with stigmatization across all spheres of their lives, and this has taken a toll on their overall quality of lives. By definition, stigma is described as a disorder or trait that marks a person as being unacceptable from the rest of population that is considered normal (Scrambler, 1998). Therefore, these individuals continue to find it hard to interact and mingle with others. Many people with mental health problems have continued to find it challenging as they have not only been forced to struggle with their mental health concerns but also had to live with the stereotypes and prejudice from the public which is attributable to misconceptions about these health disorders. Therefore, these patients are robbed of the opportunities that enhance their quality of lives such as securing employment, gaining access to quality healthcare, and interacting with those they love. Corrigan (2004) argues that stigma diminishes the self-esteem of these patients as their illness continues to rob them of their lives. It is noteworthy, however, that the impact of stigma takes two different angles which both have the potential to disrupt the interaction of the patient with other people or themselves. In this regard, there are two types of stigma namely self-stigma and public stigma. By definition, self-stigma is the prejudice in which individuals with these mental health problems perceive themselves as being of less value to themselves and the world hence this may lead them to turn against themselves (Livingston and Boyd, 2010). On the other hand, public stigma involves the prejudice of the public towards people with these health problems. The key takeaway point, however, concerns the fact that public stigma may have an enormous impact on the confidence of these individuals hence this may progressively lead on to self-stigma as the feelings of isolation can reinforce the sense of exclusion. It is worth noting that these people are constantly a subject of ridicule hence their needs are ignored. Therefore, as part of Australia’s efforts to impact the health of people with mental disorders on a broader scale, it did enact the Mental Health Act 2016 with a view of protecting these patients from some of the challenges they encounter on a daily basis. Research had continued to indicate that the despite the fact that the medical field had enjoyed tremendous success in expanding treatment options for people with these health problems, the biggest barrier to achieving favorable outcomes of practice stemmed from the attitudes of other individuals towards these patients. As a result, therefore, these patients often failed to seek treatment hence worsening their conditions. The following paper does review the literature on some of the problems faced by people with Mental Health Problems, MHP, and look at some of the solutions that are in place to counter these challenges and improve favorable outcomes. The Many Faces of Challenges Faced by MHP Patients Stigmatization of people with MHP runs deep, and there is perhaps no doubt that this current state of affairs contributes to depression amongst patients. However, maybe before blaming the public for the many challenges they bring upon these individuals, it would be noteworthy that a majority of them have limited knowledge on MHP. Therefore, there is a consensus amongst them that people with MHP are not good enough and that they are unreliable, less intelligent, and have limited capability to making sound choices (Angermeyer and Matschinger, 2005). While this may be true to some degree, the level of discrimination of these patients by the public goes far beyond acknowledging that they are in fact, limited in their capabilities, to further to conclude that these patients cannot amount to anything of value to the community. Therefore, based on the fact that they have limited knowledge of mental illness, they usually hold factually incorrect information which affects their interaction with these patients. For example, the public considers people with depression and anxiety disorders as being hard to talk to hence their health problems attract the same amount of weight attached to other psychotic diseases such as schizophrenia (Thornicroft, 2006). It is worth noting that the public still considers patients with schizophrenia as having split personalities and that other mental health problems such as alcohol and drug addiction stem from the individual’s irresponsibility. Public perceptions towards people with MHP seem to be held across the board with no significant differences concerning one’s education level, their level of income, or gender. However, teens between the ages of 16-19 were seen as having the most negative attitude towards individuals with these MHPs (Alonso et al., 2009). Perhaps this can best be described as being attributable to the lack of knowledge on some of these disorders. Vulnerability to Acts of Violence and Embarrassment Public perceptions can take forms of stereotype, and this could present different sets of challenges for people with MHP. One such problem stems from the cases of violence towards individuals with these health issues. It is noteworthy that these patients are more likely to be targets of acts of violence from members of the public. There have been reports of these individuals experiencing violent attacks from neighbors, and having their property stolen. In some cases, they have been made subjects of ridicule by members of the public by being patronized and spoken to as if they were stupid (Lyons et al., 2009). Additionally, pejorative terms such as nuts and retarded have continued to be used as a point of reference for these patients. Therefore, these case scenarios often left these patients embarrassed, hurt, depressed, and angry from such experiences (Dinos et al., 2004). Exclusion from Employment Mental health patients have often found themselves without jobs shortly after being diagnosed with these ailments. Additionally, a majority of them have reported that they have experienced discrimination when applying for employment and, therefore, this has put them at a disadvantage in comparison to non-psychotic patients. At the workplace, however, most patients continued to observe that their work colleagues treated them differently and that they would often be a subject of ridicule and bullying. In some instances, some would face demotions. Perhaps what is worrying about this trend stems from the fact whereas most patients with MHP were comfortable telling their partners or family of their health status, only about 12% of them would feel compelled to share this information with their colleagues for fear of being stigmatized (Bos et al., 2009). It is equally worth noting that about 61% of people with MHP are outside the workforce. About 40 t0 60 percent of individuals with major depression are unemployed. The same case applied to 20 to 35% of people who suffered from anxiety disorders. However, people diagnosed with schizophrenia ranked the highest among those without jobs as 80 to 90 percent of them were unemployed (Stuart, 2006). Perhaps the biggest reason why the high unemployment rates exist amongst patients with MHP is attributable to the fact that a majority of employers were unwilling to hire them. A survey conducted in the United States confirmed this fact as it was discovered that more than half of employers were reluctant to hire patients with mental health problems as they perceived them as unemployable (Stuart, 2006). However, those who were lucky to secure employment found themselves doing labor that was often incommensurate with their professional skills. Discrimination in the Health Sector Perhaps when envisioning about stigmatization, a vast majority of researchers are often quick to ignore stigmatization in the health sector. However, research as proved that prejudicial attitudes are prevalent in this area. An example of such involves instances where the patients had their symptoms dismissed by general practitioners who assumed that what the patient was describing was merely imagined and not factual (Lyons et al., 2009). Additionally, their symptoms would go ignored as spot checks in emergency rooms revealed that individuals with physical ailments bypassed those with mental health problems as they would get served much faster. Also, these patients were forced to describe their symptoms to a number of healthcare providers before they could be attended. As a result, therefore, these patients often felt frustrated at these services and became more reluctant to seek further treatment in the future. However, it is noteworthy that such could bring about unfavorable outcomes of practice as these patients are at risk of greater physical health problems. Measures Taken by the Australian Government to Reduce the Prevalence of Stigmatization There has been some action taken by the Australian government in a bid to control stigmatization and change perceptions of the public towards people with MHP. In this regard, they have continued to use to employ the use of media to sensitize the public on the disadvantages of discrimination of these patients. These actions have been initiated following long-term inaccurate reporting and portrayal of mental illnesses by the media which has contributed to changing perceptions of people towards these patients. There is growing evidence that using the media could produce favorable results as celebrities such as Stephen Fry who spoke publicly about their mental illnesses helped change perceptions about the disease (Blenkiron, 2009). The Mindframe National Media Initiative in Australia seeks to regulate how suicides are reported in the country by focusing less on the action and more on the individual attributes to change perceptions of how these patients are viewed (Pirkis and Blood, 2010). Additionally, the government has continued to focus more passing legislation to protect the rights and freedoms of individuals with MHP. These actions have resulted in the enactment of the Mental Health Act 2016 which state the rights and privileges of these people. Conclusion Mental health problems have largely remained a misunderstood subject by a majority of citizens hence this has given rise to the growing cases of discrimination. These cases have often left these patients with feelings of anger, disappointment, and frustration hence contributing to unfavorable outcomes of practice. However, it remains imperative that the public continues to be educated on mental health problems as this remains the only sure way that perceptions towards these patients can be changed. References Alonso J et al (2009) Perceived stigma among individuals with common mental disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 118: 180-186. Angermeyer MC, and Matschinger, H. (2005). The stigma of mental illness in Germany: A trend analysis. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 51: 276-284. Bos, AE et al (2009). Mental illness stigma and disclosure: consequences of coming out of the closet. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 30: 509-513 Blenkiron P (2009) Psychiatry in the Media. London: Royal College of Psychiatrist Corrigan P (2004). How stigma interferes with mental health care. The American Psychologist, 59: 7, 614-625 Dinos, S et al. (2004). Stigma: the feelings and experiences of 46 people with mental illness. British Journal of Psychiatry, 184: 176-181. Lyons, C et al. (2009) A decade of stigma and discrimination in mental health. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 16: 501-507. Pirkis J, Blood, W. (2010). Suicide and the news and information media: A critical review. Commonwealth of Australia. Scrambler, G. (1998). Stigma and disease: changing paradigms. Lancet, 352, 1054 – 1055.   Stuart, H. (2006). Mental illness and employment discrimination. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 19 (5), 522­526. Thornicroft, G. (2006). Actions Speak Louder… Tackling Discrimination against people with mental Illness. London: Mental Health Foundation. Read More

The following paper does review the literature on some of the problems faced by people with Mental Health Problems, MHP, and look at some of the solutions that are in place to counter these challenges and improve favorable outcomes. The Many Faces of Challenges Faced by MHP Patients Stigmatization of people with MHP runs deep, and there is perhaps no doubt that this current state of affairs contributes to depression amongst patients. However, maybe before blaming the public for the many challenges they bring upon these individuals, it would be noteworthy that a majority of them have limited knowledge on MHP.

Therefore, there is a consensus amongst them that people with MHP are not good enough and that they are unreliable, less intelligent, and have limited capability to making sound choices (Angermeyer and Matschinger, 2005). While this may be true to some degree, the level of discrimination of these patients by the public goes far beyond acknowledging that they are in fact, limited in their capabilities, to further to conclude that these patients cannot amount to anything of value to the community.

Therefore, based on the fact that they have limited knowledge of mental illness, they usually hold factually incorrect information which affects their interaction with these patients. For example, the public considers people with depression and anxiety disorders as being hard to talk to hence their health problems attract the same amount of weight attached to other psychotic diseases such as schizophrenia (Thornicroft, 2006). It is worth noting that the public still considers patients with schizophrenia as having split personalities and that other mental health problems such as alcohol and drug addiction stem from the individual’s irresponsibility.

Public perceptions towards people with MHP seem to be held across the board with no significant differences concerning one’s education level, their level of income, or gender. However, teens between the ages of 16-19 were seen as having the most negative attitude towards individuals with these MHPs (Alonso et al., 2009). Perhaps this can best be described as being attributable to the lack of knowledge on some of these disorders. Vulnerability to Acts of Violence and Embarrassment Public perceptions can take forms of stereotype, and this could present different sets of challenges for people with MHP.

One such problem stems from the cases of violence towards individuals with these health issues. It is noteworthy that these patients are more likely to be targets of acts of violence from members of the public. There have been reports of these individuals experiencing violent attacks from neighbors, and having their property stolen. In some cases, they have been made subjects of ridicule by members of the public by being patronized and spoken to as if they were stupid (Lyons et al., 2009). Additionally, pejorative terms such as nuts and retarded have continued to be used as a point of reference for these patients.

Therefore, these case scenarios often left these patients embarrassed, hurt, depressed, and angry from such experiences (Dinos et al., 2004). Exclusion from Employment Mental health patients have often found themselves without jobs shortly after being diagnosed with these ailments. Additionally, a majority of them have reported that they have experienced discrimination when applying for employment and, therefore, this has put them at a disadvantage in comparison to non-psychotic patients. At the workplace, however, most patients continued to observe that their work colleagues treated them differently and that they would often be a subject of ridicule and bullying.

In some instances, some would face demotions. Perhaps what is worrying about this trend stems from the fact whereas most patients with MHP were comfortable telling their partners or family of their health status, only about 12% of them would feel compelled to share this information with their colleagues for fear of being stigmatized (Bos et al., 2009).

Read More