Mentally Ill Stereotypes

Violent, dangerous, unpredictable, incompetent, disabled, abusive, anti-social, and insane. These are just a few of the characteristics that are commonly associated with the mentally ill, despite the fact they are inaccurate, unfair and help to perpetuate negative stereotypes. The mentally ill continue to be marginalised through stereotypes which is wrong. Mental illness does not equate to insanity.

Everything we are now is the product of what we have seen, smelt, heard, tasted and experienced. We are not born with the damaged perception that mental illness equals insanity, we are taught it. This stigma originated from the beginning of time where people showing abnormal behaviour were sent to institutions, chained to walls and treated like animals. Treatments over the years have improved significantly, although the ideas behind the practices still remain today. For example, instead of using laws and institutions to marginalise the mentally ill, we use the media and our words to paint the mentally ill as something they may not necessarily be, which leads to the same outcome as it has for thousands of
years, the marginalisation of the mentally ill.

Most mental illnesses are associated with violence and/or psychotic activity, a very relevant example is the media, where the mentally ill are depicted to be dangerous and insane, killing their family members, taking drugs, homeless, even their physical characteristics are often altered.
In reality, one in six New Zealand adults will suffer from a common mental disorder at some time of their lives. This overwhelming number proves you are surrounded by people that are mentally ill yet act nothing like the stereotypical image of the mentally ill we see all too often.

The irony seems to be, that the stigma is more dangerous than those who are actually ill. Without this discrimination, those who need it would feel more confident coming forward to seek help, therefore are more likely to recover and avoid a lot of the behaviour that we worry about in those that are
ill.

David W. Orr argued in his book Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World, “The planet does not need any more successful people. Instead it desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of every kind” those who marginalise the mentally ill seem to forget the value of creativity in today's society. Many of the most creative artists, poets and writers have lived with some sort of mental disorder. We are a broken world full of hate, injustice and horror yet we still force people into jobs that contribute nothing but wealth and we scorn upon those that contribute peace and passion. In saying this, most people with mental illness will lead normal lives working 9-5 and contributing just as much as the next person. So why are we continuously marginalising the ill when we have little evidence to support the idea that the mentally ill have nothing to contribute?

In conclusion, the mentally ill should not be marginalised. We need to drop stereotypes and stop spreading false information through the worlds largest platform, the media. We need to learn to appreciate uniqueness and creativity and seek to find the best in everyone.