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CONSIDER A RANGE OF THE NEGATIVE ATTITUDES MENTAL HEALTH SUFFERERS MAY EXPERIENCE WHILST IN THE COMMUNITY According to Kenworthy et al (2002) people with mental health problems are often stigmatised or feared by the general public. This is a view that is shared by the World Health Organisation [WHO] (2001), the Scottish Association for Mental Health [SAMH] (2002) and the Mental Health Foundations [MHF] (2002) who all identified discrimination as a cause for concern. The MHF has a bulletin board on its web site dedicated to negative attitudes and WHOs world health report 2001 made a specific recommendation to raise public awareness to reduce discrimination. The SAMH also has strong views on the need to protect mental health sufferers from unnecessary stigma and discrimination. They feel such attitudes can cause as much impairment as their illness.
For people suffering from poor mental health, discrimination appears to be one of the major problems they come across in every day life. As the symptoms of their illness puts constraints on their relationships and daily activities discrimination is viewed as an unnecessary burden.
Respondents to the Mental Health Foundations bulletin board on attitudes and discrimination claimed they experienced negative attitudes from a variety of sources, from in the home to the community at large and indeed from the people who are supposed to care and support the users. The overall feeling is that to complain may result in repercussions or that the complaint will not be taken seriously.
The respondents expressed that they often felt discriminated against by their own families and that they should 'pull themselves together'. They felt that their illness was often trivialised as 'you're only depressed'. Respondents also stated that most negative attitudes from family members came from those who had experience of mental health problems first hand. They thought this was because people would not want to be reminded of their own difficulties. Although one gentleman felt that those with mental health problems may not recognise their own illness in others or be fearful of it.
On the whole it was felt that discrimination was meted out in the community, from employers, retail outlets and leisure facilities. One individual who said her senior colleagues bullied her took the step of discussing her concerns with the personnel department. She said she was fortunate to find she was able to proceed with her complaint under The Disability Discrimination Act. Others stated they found it difficult to get employment, one man reporting that the job he was applying for would be too stressful for his condition. Another user claimed he was escorted by a security guard from a shop after taking what the shop described as 'too long choosing what to buy'. Another respondent recalled she was excluded from her local social club for standing up for a relative who she felt was getting taunted about their mental health problems from the staff.
Some respondents said they found it difficult getting the help they needed from health and social care professionals. They felt they had no choices and were not consulted in medication regimes. It was their view that drug regimes were seldom reviewed and that users felt they had missed out on parts of their life because of this. Others felt that they were denied psychotherapy and had to 'put up a fight' in order to get the support the deserved.
Most of the respondents felt that the media encouraged a negative portrayal of people with mental health disorders. They cited sensationalist stories from the tabloid press labelling a mental health patients as a 'nut' and a hospital as a 'lunatic asylum'. They thought mental health issues depicted were not realistic. Another respondent felt the story highlighting the poor conditions surrounding her daughters death was dropped by the media when they realised she was in a mental health unit.
The general view from respondents was that people with mental health problems often lack self-confidence, have low self-esteem, find social interaction stressful and decision-making difficult. Therefore it was felt that people with mental health problems should be accepted throughout society to prevent them being treated with a lack of respect or dignity. They thought the public should perhaps help to promote their self-worth and inner strength and security with positive opinions.
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