Stigma is one of the worst aspects of the lives of people suffering various diseases and conditions. Besides the people experiencing such serious conditions as HIV/AIDS, there are other classes of people suffering serious stigma; and this include people with mental illnesses (Tasman & Fink, 29). This is one of the social classes that have faced so much loneliness and segregation in society. Among the experiences I have had with people with mental illnesses is the experience of violence. I have witnessed a mentally retorted person turn violent on another over an unusually trivial and unjustifiable action. The mental patient turned physical after a petty argument with a friend of his. The mentally ill person was later diagnosed with emotional uncertainty because their psychological makeup was unbalanced. I have as well experienced communication difficulties with mentally ill people in a rehabilitation centers I have visited. Communicating with the mental patients is made difficult by the fact that such individuals are antisocial since they find themselves being social misfits.
The experiences I have had with people with mental illnesses have made me change my views concerning their relationship with society. I have come to note that people with mental illnesses can interact well with the rest of society if they receive mandatory counseling and appropriate care. I have as well learnt that they are one of the most vulnerable social classes since their violent tendencies may take them into serious trouble. I currently support different views concerning the people with mental illnesses since it is only through experiences that one can better understand the nature of an individual. This is because, after the experience, one becomes curious and seeks to investigate about the causes, effects and consequences of mental illnesses (Tasman & Fink, 29).
People with little no information about people with mental illnesses can obtain information about them through such sources as special institutions, like the rehabilitation centers, resourceful magazines, and the internet as well as from the office of special affairs and marginalized groups. The type of messages they receive from such resources include such information as the causes of such mental illnesses, the form of care that they need, their relationship with society, and the fact that they should not be discriminated but rather should be considered equal to other members of society.
Among the principal stigmas that are associated with mental illness are such things as drug abuse, low self esteem, antisocial tendencies, and depression. The people with mental illnesses are likely to be reluctant to seek medical and psychiatric intervention (Tasman & Fink, 231). This is because they are made to live in a condition of self denial. Given the capacity and power, I would challenge such stigma through such ways as guidance and counseling. I would as well embark on local campaigns teaching the general public on matters of equality. I would, in my campaigns, emphasize the fact that the mentally ill individuals deserve equal treatment since they are not lesser beings.
After reading the chapter and studying intensively this week, I have identified a couple of questions that have accelerated my curiosity. The questions need thorough testing. The first of the two questions is: what are the causes of such mental illnesses? Can these causes be dealt with, or can they be minimized? How can these people be aided to interact with other members of society? Can early childhood intervention reduce the cases of mental illnesses?
Works Cited
Tasman, Allan & Fink, Paul Jay. Stigma and mental illnesses. Washington: American psychiatric press, Inc. 1992. Print
