Mental Illness

Over 50 million Americans face daily struggles with a mental illness. In today’s society, individuals feel less comfortable going to see a psychologist than they do seeing an eye doctor or a dentist. Also, individuals feel worse about needing assistance fighting depression or anxiety than they do about requiring help with cancer. The term “mental illness” has a very negative connotation. Individuals often relate things like self-harm and violence to it without considering examples to support these negative interpretations. Viewing individuals as dangerous, violent, and unpredictable is an aspect of stigma within mental health and mental illness. The media needs to be aware of how they depict those with a mental illness.
The media plays a big
part in shaping society’s knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding mental illness and disorders. The depiction of individuals with mental illness in well known news, and media has for a while now portrayed it in negative stereotypical ways which usually are not supported by reality (Swantek,2004). Due to the many negative stereotypes of mental illness, it has been considered one of of the most stigmatized conditions in our society (Stout, Villegas, and Jennings, 2004). Not only are individuals with lived experience of mental illness being negatively stereotyped but they also experience other types of stigma.
Negative stereotypes result in a course of issues for individuals that include being labeled and named, associated with unwanted characteristics, and being discriminated against. As a result, individual’s with mental illness may face difficulties in their social life, in school, and even in the work place (Ritterfeld and Jin, 2006). For example, it is often challenging for a person with a metal illness to be open to meeting new people as well as maintaining that friendship. Another example, depending on the illness, it may be difficult for a person with a mental illness to find motivation to go to school or work everyday. Calling an individual with a mental illness “lazy” or “weak” or claiming they only want attention is not appropriate.
The implication that television sustains the stigma attached to mental illness initially emerged in 1978 with the publication of the U.S. President’s Commission on mental health (Swantek, 2004). Today, the media is contributing to the stigma because of the way they are memorably depicting mental illness as dangerous, causing viewers to feel anxiety. They are delivering incorrect information that strengthens society’s stereotypes of individuals with mental illness.
The media influences both mentally ill and non-mentally ill members of society by concentrating on responses to the mentally ill underlining fear and rejection, which cause society to view them in an unfortunate way. Stigma arises from these views, which affects the lives of both non-mentally ill, mentally ill, and their families by bringing on impaired self-esteem, and the lack of people acknowledging their mental illness and seeking treatment. Studies show that one-fourth of the estimated 50 million Americans with lived experience of mental illness choose not to seek mental health services because they are afraid of the stigma attached to their illness (Stout, Villegas, and Jennings, 2004).
Another factor that influences the stereotypes and stigma are fictional images of individuals with a mental illness. In the United States, one-fourth of television shows that air during prime time depict some part of mental illness and portray 2-3% of the adult characters as living with a mental illness (Swantek, 2004). Additionally, there has been studies done that reveled characters shown to have mental illnesses look different from “normal” people. The media frequently portrays mentally ill individuals with odd behaviors and body movements. A study showed that 72% of characters acting as mentally ill were violent, compared to 42% of “normal” characters. Another study showed that one in four characters displaying mental illness were shown as hurting other characters or killing another character. For example, the movie We Need to Talk About Kevin, depicts the life of a man named Kevin who is severely depressed. Kevin is displayed as violent, killing nine of his classmates, two teachers, and several family members. This movie portrays those with depression in a very negative way causing society to view people with depression negatively.
The stigmatization of mental illness is advanced in many different television shows and movies including children’s shows and movies. It is in fact exposing children to the negative stereotypes that create stigma which can potentially cause them confusion. Children in today’s world especially rely heavily on media, to gain knowledge and ideas. Movies are teaching children that individuals with a mental illness are “crazy” and are not normal members of society. They typically show this by portraying the character as an outcast. It is crucial for children’s movies to steer away from this direction as it could negatively impact their levels of stigmatization in the future. Conversely, a recent movie, Inside out, portrays the life of an eleven year old girl Riley, who displays signs of depression. The movie does a very good job at explaining to its young audience what goes on inside someone’s head who is batting depression. It goes deeply into the different emotions one feels and how to deal with them. For instance, all of the characters expect for Riley are the emotions that live inside of her head. There is joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger and they are portrayed guiding Riley everyday to help her stay positive and happy. The movie is one of very few that does a good job at portraying mental health.
Furthermore, it has been argued that there is potential for the media to positively impact society’s thoughts and knowledge about mental illness and available treatments. A study done by Ritterfeld and Jin showed that viewing the correct empathetic movie portrayal increases knowledge and viewing an education trailer influenced stigma reduction (Ritter and Jin 2006). For example, the movie A Beautiful Mind, portrays the life of John Nash and his battle with schizophrenia. The movie displays the realistic illness of schizophrenia which amplified people’s understanding and knowledge of the illness. Schizophrenia affects 1 in 10 Americans (Swantek, 2004). It would certainly benefit our society if all movies that depict mental health do so in a positive way.
Today, in our society, the internet is a heavily used form of media.
It is also very easy to access with the advanced technology of smart phones and watches, iPads, and tablets. The internet is often used as a go to for people, providing them with information on just about anything one can be looking for. Additionally, there are anonymous chat rooms on the Internet which enable those with lived and current experience of mental illness to talk with one another. That chat rooms are often used by these individuals as a way to connect with others without being judged. Also, there are many websites on the internet containing false information regarding mental health causing confusion to those trying to obtain accurate information about
it.
Despite the fact the media, for example, television and the news, for the vast majority, is an easy and accessible source of information on mental illness for most individuals, the ability of the media to reduce stereotypes is still poorly understood (Stout, Villegas, and Jennings, 2004). Stout (2004) proposed that both the cultivation theory and social learning theory could help our society with comprehending how the media affects the stigma of mental illness. The cultivation theory suggests that a great deal of exposure to repeating messages through television and news will “reiterate, confirm and nourish” values depicted through the media (Stout, Villegas, and Jennings, 2004). Furthermore, with Social learning theory, learning of stigmas and stereotypes could happen through observation of these stigmas in the media (Stout, Villegas, and Jennings, 2004). Without living or having lived experience with mental illness, individuals will depend on media depictions of people with a mental illness and form judgments that people with a mental illness are outcasts, lazy, or dysfunctional.
It is necessary for the film, television, and news industry to educate viewers on the reality of mental health and mental illness and to portray accurate information.
Expanding the understanding of mental illness with help reduce some of the negative stigmas that are being connected with mental illnesses. Considering the media can have such a negative impact on the view of mental illness, it is sensible to believe it can likewise have the ability to exert a positive influence to decrease stigma. It is time to stand up against the media and negative stereotypes that are being created. Media should be utilized to build up a more balanced understanding of mental illness as well as educating through more reasonable depictions of mental illness. Destigmatization of mental health will provide confidence to those struggling with mental illnesses, and increase their desire to seek the health care treatment they need. Not only will this help those struggling with a mental illness but it will also have an influence on their families and our society as a
whole.