Stigma

Part of the purpose of this blog is to fight stigma and misunderstandings.  One of the common misunderstandings is that there is a connection between violence and mental illness.  We see this now in the news in the discussions about shootings and what to do about them.  The NRA is currently supporting the existence of a national registry of shame: a list of people with mental illnesses.  Their call is predicated on the misconception of mentally ill people being violent.  Another common misunderstanding is that mentally ill people are mentally incapacitated.  While it may be true that some very severely afflicted individuals struggle with mental capacity due to their illness, the vast majority of the mentally ill are no different than anyone else in regards to intelligence.  We run the gamut from less to more intelligent just like the general members of the population.

One very large consequence of stigma is that people who need help may not be willing to seek help.  Here we are not talking about the issue of people who ask for help not getting it, but about the people who are so interested in separating themselves from stigma that they do not recognize that they need help.  A very insightful post on this topic is available:
When Mental Illness Stigma Turns Inward

Hopefully we can all contribute to decreasing stigma by  confronting misconceptions, participating in our communities, and talking to our families.