Stop

The

Ignorance

Given to

Mental

Afflictions

DRAWING A PICTURE OF MENTAL ILLNESS

By Brenda Silveira

Company I M CONFIDENT

WHAT DOES YOUR PICTURE OF MENTAL ILLNESS LOOK

LIKE?

ANGRY PEOPLE??

DESTRUCTIVE PEOPLE??

DANGEROUS……… or VIOLENT PEOPLE??

PEOPLE WITH LOW INTELLIGENCE?

PEOPLE WITH LOW INCOME?

$00000.00

PEOPLE WHO HAVE WEAK CHARACTER?

PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS ARE ALL THE SAME

AND CAN’T BE HELPED?

WOW!! YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA OF

WHAT MENTAL ILLNESS IS. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE

REAL PICTURE!

FIRST LET’S TAKE A LOOK ALL THOSE MYTHS THAT YOU

BELIEVE ARE TRUE.

Myth - People with mental illness

are violent and dangerous.WRONG!! As a group, they are no more violent than any other

group. In fact, they are far more likely to be the victims of violence than to be

violent themselves.

Myth - People with mental illness are poor and/or less

intelligent. WRONG!! Many studies show

that most have average or

above-average intelligence. Mental illness, like physical

illness, can affect anyone,

regardless of intelligence, social class or income level.

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT ANY OF THESE POOR AND STUPID PEOPLE WHO

HAVE DESPRESSION OR BIPOLAR DISORDER?

JK Rowling (Harry Potter books)

William Styron – Pulitzer Prize winning novelist

Robert Munsch

Margaret Trudeau

President Lincoln

Hilary C

linton

Senator Bob Antonioni

Olympic Gold Winners Matthew Mitchem Dorothy Hamill

Shawn Andrews (Eagles Guard)

Neil Lennon (ex-Celtic captain)

Charmain Dragum – news anchor

Valerie Plame – former CIA agent

Orham Pamuk – Nobel Prize winner

Sigmund Freud

Beethoven

Em

inem

Beyonce

Mandy Moore

Angelina Jolie

Owen Wilson Jim Carrey

Delta Burke

Jane Pauley (TV journalist)

Robert Downey Jr

Patty Duke

Isaac Newton (scientist, mathematician)

Florence Nightingale

- Vincent Van Gogh (famous painter)

- Clark Rockefeller (socialite)

Robin Williams

Ernest Hemingway

- Ralph Waldo EmersonMel Gibson

Mark Twain

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Virginia Woolfe

- Winston Churchill

Napolean Bonaparte

Margot Kidder

Edgar Allan Poe

Myth - Mental illness is a single, rare disorder.

WRONG AGAIN!! It is a broad classification for many disorders

such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, personality

disorders, eating disorders and organic brain disorders. These

can cause misery, tears and missed opportunities for thousands of Canadians.

Myth - Mental illness is caused by a personal

weakness. WRONG!! A mental illness is not a character flaw, it is an illness. It has nothing to do with being

weak or lacking will-power. NOBODY chooses to become ill, and CANNOT just "snap out of

it."

You have 2 good friends that go golfing with you. One is in the hospital getting

chemotherapy and the other just had a breakdown and was diagnosed with

clinical depression. You visit your friend in the hospital and on

the way home, stop to see your other friend.

LET’S DO A QUICK QUIZ

You give comments to both friends. Comment 1 – Stay positive and things will

be just fine.Comment 2 –Stop feeling sorry for

yourself. Get up and get over it.Which do you give to the friend with

cancer and which to the friend with depression. Why?

NOW FOR THE QUIZ

WAIT A MINUTE!!STOP RIGHT

THERE!!I HAVE A QUESTION.

Did you just tell someone to ‘get up and get over it”? Get over what? “WOW! Looks like this picture

isn’t finished yet.You still don’t understand that

illnesses are illnesses.Let’s keep drawing.

You’ve all heard the expression, Sticks and stones……

But words will never hurt you.WHAT?!?

Who would think such a stupid thing was true?

Words CAN HURT!!!

crazynutso

wacko

psycho

cuckoo

It’s time to look at some of the real facts about mental

illness.

Society puts enormous

pressures on people, who are

getting so STRESSED it is making them

DEPRESSED or even worse.

THE MEDIA…

often distorts the truth, using mental illness to

create spectacular situations and stories.

Take a look at 5 or your family members and friends. At least 1

of them will probably experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime or

maybe it will be you!

Wouldn’t it be nice if you understood what the real facts were instead of all the myths

that are hanging around.

Let’s look at that horrible word STIGMA – the little

word that causes big problems.

Stigma has:•closed our minds•caused disrespect

• caused discrimination• discourages people from

getting the proper help

SO WHAT DOES STIGMA COST?A LOT!!!

The government spends millions of dollars annually in health care costs and

the cost of employee absences is enormous.

The cost is over $8 billion per year and when you add substance abuse, which is

often the result or cause of mental illness, this grows to $33 billion per

year!!!My question is simply, WHY??

Insurance companies pay out millions of dollars each year for

disability insurance claims relating to mental illness.

Again, why?

Stigma is also responsible for high unemployment for those with mental

illnesses – up to 90%!!Did you know that

Niagara has one of the highest

unemployment rates in Canada?

This creates a huge need for social

assistance.Is this really necessary?

This seems to be a vicious circle!

COLLECTSOCIAL

ASSISTANCE

LESS MONEYSPENT ON CONSUMER

GOODS

LESS SALESLOWER PROFITS

LESS WORKWAGE CUTS

LAYOFFS

PEOPLE BECOMESTRESSED

AND DEPRESSED

UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE

Work is really important to anyone recovering from mental illness -

giving purpose, a support system and income.

People who work have a better

quality of life and are less likely to require hospitalization from a

mental illness.

What? How? Why? STIGMA AGAIN! Mental illness is badly misunderstood by

many employers and co-workers, so people try to hide their disability and not

get help.

Employers need to learn the facts and set proper systems in place to lesson

workplace stress and resulting depression.

YET…… EMPLOYMENT CAN

ALSO CAUSE PROBLEMS.

Did you know that working for an inconsiderate, overbearing and uncaring boss can actually kill you? When work causes you to be upset and stressed

out, the result can be high blood pressure and heart attacks. Wow, that’s a sad picture.

EXCUSE ME?THAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.

Maybe not, but professionals also have poor attitudes towards mental

illness and have shown complete disrespect towards their own

patients. This stops many people from

seeking help.YIKES! I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY.

THEN THERE IS THE STIGMA WITHIN THE MENTAL

HEALTH SYSTEM

BROKEN LEG?

Time to get to the hospital.

CHEST PAINS?

Time to get to the ????? WHERE?

It can be humiliating to go to the hospital when there are no symptoms or signs of distress. Too often, people just try to ignore things and they won’t disappear – just get worse.

PANIC ATTACK?CONSIDERING SUICIDE?

People living with mental illness often feel worse from how others treat them, then they do from the

illness itself. This includes families, friends, co-workers, professionals and even

strangers.There is definitely something wrong

with this picture!

Each year in Canada there are thousands of people

hospitalized and more than 4,000 deaths by suicide in

Canada.Source: Niagara Suicide Prevention Coalition 2006

CANADIANS ARE BEING DESTROYED

BY the lack of correct information

and the support that is so

desperately needed.

LACK OF INFO LACK OF SUPPORT

We are basically CUTTING OFF our own

heads.

In Canada, we have severed the head In Canada, we have severed the head from the body by separating physical from the body by separating physical

and psychological health.and psychological health.

This is not productive and can be very This is not productive and can be very harmful.harmful.

For years the lack of support for people with mental illness has been felt by individuals and their families.

In 1935, the best known self-help group AA was started and slowly

others began to appear.

However, slowly is not acceptable.WE ARE IN CRISIS!

THERE IS A TIME BOMB TICKING!

Mental CAN be treated effectively. With the proper diagnosis by a

medical doctor, a treatment plan (meds and/or therapy), ongoing support and regular checkups,

RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE.

So when is something going to be done? How many more……

• will be admitted to hospitals for mental illnesses

• will be admitted to hospitals for mental illnesses

• will commit suicide to stop their pain

Can we add your family to thenumbers being torn apart?

Self-help and support groups provide emotional and practical

help which comes from those who have ‘lived’ experience and can

honestly say, “I understand because I have been there myself.”

This support CANNOT be duplicated in a doctor’s office.

Peer support groups help because they:

•have a warm, friendly, inviting atmosphere

•are non-judgmental•are non-threatening

• allow you to feel comfortable•don’t pressured you into saying

anything you don’t want to

IN AUGUST 2007…………..the Mental Health Commission of Canada

was created. $15 million per year has been committed to provide funding for

their work.The commission has 3 strategic

initiatives: 1.develop a national mental health

strategy2.conduct a 10-year anti-stigma

campaign3.build a national knowledge-exchange

centre.

WE ARE NOW STARTING TO BRING THE TRUTH TO THE

SURFACE!Mental Health experts are telling us

that if employers would they broke the stigma of mental illness as a character weakness, they would save billions of

dollars annually. WOW!

have found peer support a valuable tool in in recovery. Suicide rate in the forces is low compared to civilian population,

but it is still a problem. Every 40 seconds someone in the world dies by suicide, which has taken more

lives each year than armed conflict and vehicle accidents.

THE CANADIAN FORCES……

So now let’s

draw a real

picture of mental

illness. A

re you

ready?

Mental illness can be treated and many can recover.

Looking at someone with a mental illness should be no different than someone with a physical illness.

ILLNESSES ARE ILLNESSES!Anyone who is ill should be treated

with respect and dignity. Illness can come to anyone and it could

stop at your door.

It is the responsibility of all individuals to find

out the proper information about

any illness or disease and not listen to false

rumours or spread gossip that may

destroy families and other relationships.

People with mental illness are people with varying abilities,

strengths and interests.

While they are ill, they need a lot of support from their families,

friends and workplaces.

When they are back in the swing

of things, they still need support, but they can also support us when

we face challenges

in life.

Some companies have been opened Some companies have been opened to provide training and to provide training and

employment for people with Mental employment for people with Mental Health Issues.Health Issues.

One that is very successful is One that is very successful is located in Toronto. Fresh Start was located in Toronto. Fresh Start was started in 1989 and is solely owned started in 1989 and is solely owned

and operated by psychiatric and operated by psychiatric survivors. survivors.

Employees are trained and work in Employees are trained and work in a positive environment which helps a positive environment which helps

build confidence. build confidence.

PROVEN TO SUCCEED

Employees are trained and Employees are trained and work in a positive work in a positive

environment which helps environment which helps build confidence. build confidence.

Ongoing support keeps Ongoing support keeps employees working and out of employees working and out of

hospital.hospital.Employees who spent 45 days Employees who spent 45 days or more a year in the hospital, or more a year in the hospital, have reduced their visits to 0 have reduced their visits to 0

days.days.This is an estimated savings This is an estimated savings

of $600 per day per employee.of $600 per day per employee.

The company has a high reputation The company has a high reputation and they are praised for their work and they are praised for their work

in the community. in the community.

Funding comes from the Trillium Funding comes from the Trillium Foundation and the City of Foundation and the City of

Toronto.Toronto.

There are others, but this just tells There are others, but this just tells us we can succeed if we really us we can succeed if we really

want to.want to.

REMEMBER, TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

LET’S ALL WORK TOGETHER AND DRAW A PICTURE THAT DOESN’T

HAVE STIGMA. THE TIME IS NOW!!!