Mental Health Awareness

Despite the increase in publicity surrounding mental health issues, there is still a lack of understanding about mental health in general. For example, a research survey published by the government  "Attitudes to Mental Illness 2007" , reported that 63% of those surveyed described someone who is mentally ill as suffering from schizophrenia, and more than half believed that people with mental illness should be kept in a psychiatric ward or hospital. Overall the results showed that positive attitudes to people with mental health had actually decreased since 1994, which is worrying indeed.

 Many people still don't understand that mental health issues in the general population affect all of us, whether we are suffering from a mental illness ourselves or not.  Approximately one quarter of the population are suffering from some kind of mental health problem at any one time, so that even if we personally don't have a mental illness, it may affect one of our family members or close friends, and therefore it would be helpful for us to understand and become educated about the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

Many people with mental health problems will often feel isolated and rejected and too afraid to share their problems with others purely because of the way they might be perceived. This lack of understanding means they are less likely to get the kind of help and support they need and are in danger of slipping even further into depression and mental illness. People need to understand that mental illness need not be a barrier to a better quality of life and that help is available and that most people with a mental health problem can regain full control over their lives if they get the support they need.

A new guide to mental health:

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has produced a new guide to mental health which was published in November 2007 and is aimed at informing the general public about mental illness and is a big step towards tackling the stigma that is still attached to mental illness. The guide is written in an easy to understand format and over 60 mental health experts have contributed to it. "The Mind: A User's Guide", contains chapters that cover a whole range of mental illnesses and includes a section on how the brain works, how mental illness is diagnosed, and how to cope with it.

A Scottish survey:

In Scotland, a national survey of public attitudes to mental health called " Well? What Do You Think?"(2006) was published in September 2007, and highlighted the fact that although people living in socially deprived areas have a higher incidence of mental health, the level of stigmatization is not lower than in other areas. This suggests the higher prevalence of  mental illness in a community does not change the attitudes towards it.

There are also gender differences too. According to the Scottish survey, men with a mental health problem were more likely to be treated with suspicion than women and were also more inclined to avoid social contact with someone else with a mental health problem. Even those people who displayed a positive attitude towards people with mental health problems, said they would be reluctant to tell anyone if they had a mental health problem themselves.

A CIPD Survey:

A recent study conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and KPMG consultants surveyed over 600 employers and reported that doctors are not doing enough to help people with mental health problems return to work and that this is costing the business world billions of pounds. For example, only 3% of the participants rated doctor support as "very good".

It may be that doctors really don't know what else to offer someone suffering from depression and anxiety other than antidepressant medications and time off work. Even more worrisome was the fact that 52% of employers maintained that they never hired anyone with a history of mental illness which serves to perpetuate the stigma. On a more positive note, of those that did hire someone with a mental health problem, more than half said the experience had been "positive".

Changing attitudes:

A lot is being done by governments and organizations to try to change public attitudes towards mental health but is it enough? Until we all recognize that mental illness doesn't discriminate, it can affect any one of us at any time regardless of our age, gender or social background, the stigma attached to mental illness is likely to persist.

Although a number of government initiatives, awareness campaigns and organizations have been set up specifically to change the public's understanding of mental health issues and change our attitudes towards mental health in general, there is still a long way to go. It is therefore important that all of us become better educated regarding mental helath issues so that  people will feel more comfortable seeking professional assistance and it may help to improve the quality and productivy of people with mental health issues in our society.