Mental Illness Statistics: 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 Illness Stigma: 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. … ASK: What contributes to the negative stigma around mental illness? THINK PAIR SHARE end with question: What is the effect of this stigma on patients of MI?

Mental Illness Stigma: 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? Mental illness: A disorderly functioning of the mind Abnormal 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 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 Discuss quotes

Changing Views of Mental Illness Time 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 Illness True or False… People with mental illness are violent and dangerous… People with mental illness are poor and/or less intelligent… Mental illness is caused by a personal weakness… Mental illness is a single, rare disorder… Have students write down TRUE / FALSE for each one before revealing answers

Myths 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 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 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 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 Illness Since 1980, the most important categories according to the DSM III R (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) are: Anxiety Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Personality Disorders Substance-Related Talk about the DSM – currently we are on DSM IV – V will be printed in the next decade

Categories of Mental Illness Anxiety Disorders Mood Disorders Schizo-phrenic Disorders Personality Disorders Substance Related Disorders Let’s look at the different manifestations of each disorder

Anxiety 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 Disorders Phobias

Anxiety 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 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 Disorders Major Depression: Bipolar Affective Disorder: What are synonyms for the word depressed or depression? Bipolar Affective Disorder: Movement between 2 extreme moods Formally known as “Manic Depression”

Schizophrenic Disorders Schizophrenia: 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 Disorders Those 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 Disorders Refers 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 Illness Anxiety 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 Help Let’s discuss the various methods of treatment currently used:

The Media and Mental Illness 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? Review list

The Media and Mental Illness 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. Pass around photocopied examples

Activity: Thinking About Stigma 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?