Mental IllnessMental IllnessStatistics:20% of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime.

Mental illness affects people of all ages, educational and income levels, and cultures.

Approximately 8% of adults will experience major depression at some time in their lives.

About 1% of Canadians will experience bipolar disorder (or "manic depression").

From: Canadian Mental Health Association website

Mental IllnessMental IllnessStigma:Definition: 1. brand, stain, blemish, defect, a scar - a mark of    shame or discredit

Stigma is the use of negative labels to identify a person living with mental illness. …

Mental IllnessMental IllnessStigma:Definition: 1. brand, stain, blemish, defect, a scar - a mark of    shame or discredit

Stigma is the use of negative labels to identify a person living with mental illness… It is about disrespect and keeps mental illness in the closet. Stigma is a barrier and discourages individuals and their families from getting the help they need. It closes minds and fuels discrimination. Many say that living with the stigma is worse than living with the illness itself.

What is mental illness?What is mental illness?

Mental illness: A disorderly functioning of the mindAbnormal behaviour – behaviour

that is out of the ordinary and does not conform to the behaviour of most people

What is normal anyway?

What is mental illness?What is mental illness?

What is normal behaviour?"When will you understand that being

normal isn't necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage.“ –unknown

“To be normal is the ideal aim of the unsuccessful.” – Carl Jung

“The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.” – Joe Ancis

Changing Views of Mental Changing Views of Mental IllnessIllnessTime Cause Treatment

Medieval Evil Spirits Hole drilled in skull to release spirits; vomiting induced, “witches” burned at the stake

Pre-1700 Unknown Chained in asylums in subhuman conditions

1790 Human Problem Pinel encouraged moving about and communicating in asylum

1890-1950 Unconscious conflict; negative experience

Freud /Skinner

1950- Both nature / nurture

Drugs, counseling, hospitalization

Myths of Mental IllnessMyths of Mental Illness

True or False…1.People with mental illness are violent and dangerous…

2.People with mental illness are poor and/or less intelligent…

3.Mental illness is caused by a personal weakness…

4.Mental illness is a single, rare disorder…

Myths of Mental IllnessMyths of Mental Illness

True or False…People with mental illness are violent and dangerous…

The truth is that, as a group, mentally ill people are no more violent than any other group. In

fact, they are far more likely to be the victims of violence than to be

violent themselves (2.5 times more likely).

Myths of Mental IllnessMyths of Mental Illness

True or False…People with mental illness are poor and/or less intelligent…Many studies show that mentally ill people have average or above-average intelligence. Mental illness, like physical illness, can affect anyone regardless of intelligence, social class or income level.

Myths of Mental IllnessMyths of Mental Illness

True or False…Mental illness is caused by a

personal weakness…A mental illness is not a character flaw. It is an illness, and it has nothing to do with being weak or lacking will-power. Although people with mental illness can play a big part in their own recovery, they did not choose to become ill, and they are not lazy because they cannot just ‘snap out of it.’

Myths of Mental IllnessMyths of Mental Illness

True or False…Mental illness is a single, rare disorder…Mental illness is not a single disease but a broad classification for many disorders.

Categories of Mental Categories of Mental IllnessIllness

Since 1980, the most important categories according to the DSM III R (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) are:Anxiety DisordersMood DisordersSchizophrenic DisordersPersonality DisordersSubstance-Related

Categories of Mental Categories of Mental IllnessIllness

Anxiety Disorders

Mood Disorders

Schizo-phrenic

Disorders

Personality Disorders

Substance Related Disorders

Let’s look at the

different manifestations

of each disorder

Anxiety DisordersAnxiety Disorders

Generalized anxiety disorder:

What does anxiety look like in someone without the disorder?

Can occur without an obvious reason

Freud was one of first to diagnose and treat anxiety

Anxiety DisordersAnxiety Disorders

Phobias

Anxiety DisordersAnxiety Disorders

Phobia: a form of anxiety that involves an intense, irrational fear of certain objects or situations

What is the difference between an everyday fear and a phobia?

Anxiety DisordersAnxiety Disorders

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD):

Obsession: a persistent or unwanted thought

Compulsion: the tendency to perform an act repeatedly in order to relieve the anxiety

Mood DisordersMood Disorders

Major Depression:What are synonyms for the word

depressed or depression?

Bipolar Affective Disorder:Movement between 2 extreme

moodsFormally known as “Manic

Depression”

Schizophrenic DisordersSchizophrenic DisordersSchizophrenia:

When in remission, a person with schizophrenia may seem relatively unaffected and can more or less function in society. During relapse, however, it is a different story. People with schizophrenia may experience one or all of these main conditions:

delusions and/or hallucinations, lack of motivation, social withdrawal, thought disorders.

Personality DisordersPersonality DisordersThose with a personality disorder possess several distinct psychological features including:

disturbances in self-image ability to have successful interpersonal

relationships appropriateness of range of emotion ways of perceiving themselves, others,

and the world difficulty possessing proper impulse

control

There are ten different types of personality disorders that exist, which all have various emphases.

Substance-Related Substance-Related DisordersDisordersRefers to the harmful use of

substances such as alcohol, tobacco or drugs

Usually referred to as substance “abuse” or substance “dependence”

When does “use” spill over into “abuse”?

Why is substance abuse considered a mental disorder?

Categories of Mental Categories of Mental IllnessIllnessAnxiety Disorders

Mood Disorders

Schizo-phrenic

Disorders

Personality Disorders

Substance Related Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Major Depression

Schizo-phrenia

Sociopath or psychopath

Alcoholism

Phobias Bipolar Affective Disorder

Drug induced psychosis

Up to 10 other personality disorders exist

Drug addiction

Getting HelpGetting HelpLet’s discuss the various

methods of treatment currently used:

The Media and Mental The Media and Mental IllnessIllness

People with mental disorders are, many times, not described accurately or realistically in the media.

Can you think of songs, music videos, movies, TV shows, games where there may be an inaccurate or negative portrayal of a person with mental illness?

The Media and Mental The Media and Mental IllnessIllness

News stories sometimes highlight mental illness to create a sensation in a news report, even if the mental illness is not relevant to the story.

Advertisers use words like ‘crazy’ to convey that their prices are unrealistically low and that consumers can take advantage of them.

Activity: Thinking About Activity: Thinking About StigmaStigma

Now that you know more about mental illness, take another look at the article entitled ‘Is Britney Spears Bipolar?’

On the worksheet provided, you will play editor / expert. In point form or in a paragraph, provide your comments on the Britney Spears article. Using the fact sheet on Bipolar Affective Disorder, specifically comment on the quality of the information provided by the article regarding the disorder. Does this article promote a negative, positive or neutral view of the disorder? What changes would you recommend to fight the stigma around bipolar?