Discrimination against people with mental illness is all too prevalent, but what does someone do when someone in your family is being stigmatized by their own family members? 

A member of the family, we’ll call him the Father, was diagnosed with schizophrenia approximately fifteen years ago, but it wasn’t until this week that his sister was given that information.  They live across the country from each other and and don’t see each other often, but the sister has always know that her brother was “quirky.”  She knew he was brilliant and that he had scored very high on a IQ test while in high school and always considered him a genius.  Over the last several years she often wondered if her brother had a mental illness diagnosis, but no one else in the family thought it possible.  That is, no one besides her sister-in-law who finally shared the information after living with him for over twenty years and raising a family. 

The sister, who believes that mental illness should not be kept in the closet and needs to be spoken about feels frustrated and saddened by her brother’s family’s inability to share openly an illness that needs to be discussed.  It is the first step in reducing stigma.

All that can be done  is to encourage the family to be open.  This is an issue that they must come to grips with on their own, but here are some suggestions (some from the www.nami.org website) to anyone interested in reducing mental illness stigma. 

Use of Language is Most Important

•  Protest usage of single words like “crazy” “psycho” “wacko” or “loony” unless they refer directly to individuals struggling with mental illnesses or to the illness itself.
•  ”Schizophrenic” to describe a split decision made by Congress or any organization has become part of our cultural language. However, its misuse is being heard and corrected by many in the public arena.
•  Protest calling a person a “schizophrenic”: NAMI policy calls for PEOPLE FIRST: people, persons, individuals with a mental illness, schizophrenia, bipolar, clinical depression, OCD, panic disorder.

Above all else, get educated and know that mental illness, like any other illness is a biological disorder;  it can be successfully treated and recovery is more than possible, it’s probable.  Ignorance has caused people to abandon their family members and encouraged the person with the diagnosis to isolate themselves. 

Just like a person living with cancer or diabetes, a person with mental illness needs support and acceptance from their family and friends. 

There is a genetic predisposition, so everyone in the family needs to know what the symptoms and “red flags” are.  Sometimes is takes years, even decades before a person is diagnosed.  It is proven than the earlier a person receives treatment, the better the outcome.

Encourage our legislators to treat mental illnesses with parity so that insurance coverage is equal for mental illnesses with physical illnesses.

Bottom line is we need to accept people for who they are, with or without any illness and be there to support and encourage them as equal human beings.

Am I being sensitive, but is anyone tired of the pink ribbon campaign? I just returned from a conference in North Carolina and even the flight attendants were wearing pink t-shirts, scarves and/or dresses. It seems like the marketing department for breast cancer research has become overly obsessed with getting their message out. I wonder just how much of the money they raise goes to pay their salaries?

Perhaps I’m just jealous, and I know this blog is probably going to cause many people to be angry with me and I apologize for that. It’s not that I don’t believe in breast cancer awareness (my grandmother had to have a double mastectomy), but as an advocate for people with mental illness I wish there was more awareness and less stigma about mentall illnesses that effect 25% of our population in any given year and causes more disability that any other illness. Yet, with proper treatment, 70-80% of people living with mental illness do recover! Still, no one knows about it! Even the National Mental Illness Awareness Week the first part of October was totally overshawdowed by “pink ribbons.”

The National Alliance on Mental Illness has called for an increase in research spending for the National Institutes for Mental Health.  Below is the statement from their website.
Please take the time to register your thoughts.

NAMI Calls for Increase in NIH Funding
NAMI is joining advocates from across the nation in asking President Obama to make medical research for improving health care a priority and support robust funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
NAMI and other illness and patient advocacy groups are rallying advocates to contact the White House this week in support of significant annual increases for NIH.
“NAMI is pleased to join other disease advocacy organizations in support of the ‘Research Means Hope’ movement to ensure that the president’s FY 2011 budget meets the goal of making biomedical research funding a national priority,” says Michael J. Fitzpatrick, NAMI Executive Director. “Investment in medical research is the source of hope for people living with serious mental illness.”
“Direct and indirect costs of mental illness impact the federal budget overall and state and local communities nationwide, including a substantial and growing burden imposed on “default” systems such as emergency rooms, homeless shelters, police, jails and prisons.”
“Adequate investment in research on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and other disorders is essential for our nation to address these human and financial costs. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has received more than $368 million in ARRA funding to support meritorious grants and invest in new ‘challenge’ grants and ‘grand opportunity’ grants.”
President Obama needs to continue this investment in his FY 2011 budget proposal.”
How you can help
Now is a particularly important time for President Obama to hear from advocates because he is working with his administration to determine the FY 2011 budget priorities.
• Take Action: Send a message to President Obama on NIH funding.
• Learn more: Details on Proposed Mental Illness Research Funding.

You can access direct links for taking action on the blogroll lists on this site.

Education Needed to Build Stronger Communities

As the great debate rages over healthcare reform, once again those with mental illnesses are being marginalized because none of the proposals even mention mental health insurance parity.  This is in spite of the fact that those debating the issue in our nation’s capital all have mental health insurance coverage due to the Wellstone-Dominici Act of 1996.  Also, in spite of the mental health parity act that was signed into law in November 2008 and is set to go into effect in November 2009.

Tonight at 7pm at Duval Auditorium at UMC a 90 minute educational discussion sponsored by NAMI Southern Arizona will explore the biological basis of mental illnesses, the recognition and treatment of mental illnesses in children and youth, the state of mental health insurance parity in the nation and Arizona and finally receiving mental health treatment in Pima County from a consumer and a family member’s perspective.  

Dr. H. Clarke Romans, Executive Director of NAMI Southern Arizona says  “Mental illnesses are medical illnesses. That is the starting point for understanding, as well as treatment and recovery. Mental Illness does not discriminate. No one is immune. The U.S. Surgeon General has noted that stigma is a major barrier to people seeking help when they need it. That’s why education is important.”

Panel members include Dr. Francisco Moreno,  Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona, Dr. Ann Lettes, Child and Adolecent Psychiatrist, Gabe Zimmerman, Representing Congressional Office of Gabrielle Giffords, Scott Whitley, representing people living with mental illness and Susan Moreno, Advocate and family member of person who had mental illness.  Dr. Romans will moderate.              

On average, people with serious mental illness live 25 years less than the rest of the population. One reason is that less than a third of adults and less than half of children with a diagnosed illness receive treatment.

 Half of all lifetime cases begin by age 14. Long delays occur—as much as a decade—between the onset of symptoms and getting help.

 Yet, “Treatment works if you can get it,” said Dr. Clarke. “We need to remove stigma and offer help in local communities. That’s a challenge that requires action. Education must precede action.”

 Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) is October 4-10. Designated by Congress to promote public education about serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, MIAW was established almost twenty years ago. Other disorders included are post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders including obsessive-compulsive disorder and borderline personality disorder. About 60 million Americans experience mental health problems in any given year with one in four families being affected. One in 17 lives with the most serious conditions.

That’s what MIAW is about. It means taking a step forward to strengthen our community.

For more information about mental illness, please visit www.nami.org.