STAMP OUT MI STIGMA'S!

                           

So is there anyone out there that would like to be discriminated against in one way or another?  Please raise your hands now...  If there are no takers to this offer how do we as a society find it ok to discriminate against others?  Be it little or big biases here and there, at the end of the day it is still discrimination. So many of us (myself included) boast the morale of doing onto others as we would have done onto ourselves.  Yet ... (again - my self included) there seem to be these "exceptions" concerning the act of discrimination.  Growing up we were discriminated against pretty much from the time I can remember.  It is because of this I try really hard to educate myself against areas that I might find prejudice.  A big one for me lately are these "mother's" in the news that kill their children.  My ignorance quickly steps in and soon there are expletive's that come bursting out of my mouth concerning the character of these women.  Momentary as it may have been it still happens even when I would like to live a Gandhi 'esque lifestyle.  So instead I try to urge myself away from what the news might report about these people in 2 or 3 short minutes & educate myself on PPD & other MI that may have caused these drastic actions.

So as far as reducing the stigma against those effected with MI I say GET INFORMED!!!  In today's world we would have to be living under a rock not to be able to do a simple Google search.  Facebook is really popular and people check in on that all the time several times a day via a variety of methods.   I typed in MI advocacy to my Google search bar and came up with several very good sources helping to explain MI, what can be done to stop the spread of MI discrimination & what resources are out there for people with a MI.  It took about 15minutes!  Check out some of the sites here:

http://www.naayers.org/programs_stopstigma.html

http://www.mentalhealthadvocacy.org/

http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=state_advocacy

                

*Graph courtesy of the New York Board on Mental Health

I have a cousin who was born with FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome), meaning his mother drank alcoholic beverages during pregnancy.  We don't know to what extent she drank if it was just 1 or 2 during a critical developmental point or if she drank on a daily basis.  We don't know this because he had what was called a closed adoption.  Growing up he had some physical trademarks that come from FAS and his behavior was much like that of other young boys i.e. rowdy, loud, hyper.  By the time he was 15 yo he was institutionalized to the grief of my Aunt & Uncle.  His behavior became more erratic, quite violent & he no longer was safe to be around.  It was a struggle for the whole family to try and comprehend what the problem was.  Again, the stigmas arose.  This was in the late 1980's & MI was not spoke of a lot in our community.  Instead he was sent to a state hospital, put in isolation & heavily medicated.  A string of doctors over the years have diagnosed an array of conditions he suffers from schizophernia, manic depressive, the list goes on.  Bottom line is this man who is now 37 yo has been living as if he were a criminal for the last 22 years.  The funding for advancement, continued care, community support, and medication access is ever declining.  This national budget problem effects everyone in big ways.  For more information I have posted a link by NAMI that reports the MI cuts in spending at some alarming rates.  For instance from 2009 - 2011 the Mental Health budget was cut by $1.6 BILLION - dollars!  That is very sad considering that people are released from housing, not getting community support or their medications.  You can check out more here:

 http://www.nami.org/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm?ContentFileID=126233

   Bruce Link & Jo Phelan identify 3 forms of discrimination; one of which is "direct", this defines persons with a stereotypical belief(s) often directly discriminating against another.  The second is "structural", which as I touched on above is segregating those with MI to isolated tx facilities (out of sight out of mind...?).  The third is called "internalized", this incorporates the ingrained negative beliefs surrounding MI.  Therefore making persons who have signs of MI reluctant to getting help because of the stigmas they would face. 
 
                                        
We can all be advocates everyday in every way.  First by stopping our own misguided thoughts & getting better informed.  Second to SPEAK UP when we witness discrimination occurring.  Third reach out in the community or with loved ones with MI.  We all have a part to play its whether or not we want to join the fight against MI STIGMAS.