Comments on: Sometimes the problem is…ME? http://saynotostigma.com/2010/03/sometimes-the-problem-is-me/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sometimes-the-problem-is-me a blog of The Menninger Clinic Sun, 19 May 2013 21:30:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Think you’re stuck with self-stigma? Think again. http://saynotostigma.com/2010/03/sometimes-the-problem-is-me/comment-page-1/#comment-200 Think you’re stuck with self-stigma? Think again. Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:26:59 +0000 http://saynotostigma.com/?p=332#comment-200 [...] a previous post (Sometimes the problem is…ME?), I suggested that the problem of stigma and mental illness doesn’t reside entirely in society, [...] [...] a previous post (Sometimes the problem is…ME?), I suggested that the problem of stigma and mental illness doesn’t reside entirely in society, [...]

]]> By: Mark http://saynotostigma.com/2010/03/sometimes-the-problem-is-me/comment-page-1/#comment-76 Mark Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:54:13 +0000 http://saynotostigma.com/?p=332#comment-76 When I received the email announcing this website, I immediately thought how can I use this at work (an urban community mental health clinic). So, to say that I am grateful such an esteemed institution would encourage practitioners to recognize stigma and to do something about it, would be an understatement. Daily, I hear terms like "the schizophrenic", "the borderline", "the addict" and wonder why in this day in age, do we continue to use labels to define the people we work with. As a supervisor, I try to capture labeling and stigma as an opportunity to teach. I try to point our colleagues towards recovery centered research done right here in our community. This has typically been met with mixed reviews. Most common; “that sounds good, but it is not very practical.” WHAT ARE WE SO AFRAID OF? Of course this is a rhetorical question. I am curious to learn how other readers of this blog respond to resistance geared towards status quo. I have already read some great posts on this blog- and will forward it on to the folks practicing in my clinic. When I received the email announcing this website, I immediately thought how can I use this at work (an urban community mental health clinic). So, to say that I am grateful such an esteemed institution would encourage practitioners to recognize stigma and to do something about it, would be an understatement.

Daily, I hear terms like “the schizophrenic”, “the borderline”, “the addict” and wonder why in this day in age, do we continue to use labels to define the people we work with. As a supervisor, I try to capture labeling and stigma as an opportunity to teach. I try to point our colleagues towards recovery centered research done right here in our community. This has typically been met with mixed reviews. Most common; “that sounds good, but it is not very practical.”

WHAT ARE WE SO AFRAID OF? Of course this is a rhetorical question. I am curious to learn how other readers of this blog respond to resistance geared towards status quo.

I have already read some great posts on this blog- and will forward it on to the folks practicing in my clinic.

]]> By: Jan Neighbors http://saynotostigma.com/2010/03/sometimes-the-problem-is-me/comment-page-1/#comment-75 Jan Neighbors Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:15:34 +0000 http://saynotostigma.com/?p=332#comment-75 I found this article encouraging and so true. I am a family member of someone who experienced serious mental illness and also a counselor. I think it would be great if everyone had mental health check ups because I think everyone has times in their lives where they experience depression, anxiety, relationship issues, grief or just personal situations where they need an objective professional to help them find healthy ways to deal with life. This can change their life significantly. The stigma is ever present, a friend just had to get a counselor to evaluate them for disability and she was so nervous, I explained she would be the same person before and after the appointment and since she had worked for many years her mental status was not going to be the reason she would be considered disabled to work but her serious physical health issues would be where that decision rested. We recently had a college professor get angry after being denied tenture and she shot six professors, killing three and seriously injured two others who according to reports was very seriously ill but working as a Harvard graduate at a respected University. People need to address the importance of getting help for themselves or others the stigma still stops many from addressing their issues until a diaster happens, very often suicide. I am grateful to see that the care has improved and the stigma has been on the decline the last thirty years especially, a very positive trend. It is not shameful to need care just a shame not to accept care. Jan Neighbors, M.A. I found this article encouraging and so true. I am a family member of someone who experienced serious mental illness and also a counselor. I think it would be great if everyone had mental health check ups because I think everyone has times in their lives where they experience depression, anxiety, relationship issues, grief or just personal situations where they need an objective professional to help them find healthy ways to deal with life. This can change their life significantly. The stigma is ever present, a friend just had to get a counselor to evaluate them for disability and she was so nervous, I explained she would be the same person before and after the appointment and since she had worked for many years her mental status was not going to be the reason she would be considered disabled to work but her serious physical health issues would be where that decision rested. We recently had a college professor get angry after being denied tenture and she shot six professors, killing three and seriously injured two others who according to reports was very seriously ill but working as a Harvard graduate at a respected University. People need to address the importance of getting help for themselves or others the stigma still stops many from addressing their issues until a diaster happens, very often suicide. I am grateful to see that the care has improved and the stigma has been on the decline the last thirty years especially, a very positive trend. It is not shameful to need care just a shame not to accept care.
Jan Neighbors, M.A.

]]> By: Audrey Auernheimer http://saynotostigma.com/2010/03/sometimes-the-problem-is-me/comment-page-1/#comment-69 Audrey Auernheimer Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:27:56 +0000 http://saynotostigma.com/?p=332#comment-69 How true it is. My name is Audrey Auernheimer. I've lost two children to suicide in the state of Arkansas due to inappropriate treatment services. There are caring proffessionals within the mental health system. However, laws regulating treatment (due to stigma) limits their ability to treat appropriately. My 28 year old son actually took his life in '02 in the Arkansas State Hospital. He was supposed to be on suicide watch. I wonder if anything has changed at that hospital? How true it is. My name is Audrey Auernheimer. I’ve lost two children to suicide in the state of Arkansas due to inappropriate treatment services. There are caring proffessionals within the mental health system. However, laws regulating treatment (due to stigma) limits their ability to treat appropriately. My 28 year old son actually took his life in ’02 in the Arkansas State Hospital. He was supposed to be on suicide watch. I wonder if anything has changed at that hospital?

]]> By: Cindy Nelson http://saynotostigma.com/2010/03/sometimes-the-problem-is-me/comment-page-1/#comment-60 Cindy Nelson Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:49:29 +0000 http://saynotostigma.com/?p=332#comment-60 Thank you Tom Ellis for addressing this issue. I, like many others feel stigma, (prejudice, discrimination, it has many nuances) creates barriers to treatment, employment, housing, and ultimately acceptance. You make many valid points and they're well taken. It's true that the individual effected by a mental illness has to come to terms first. Secondly, their family and friends have to come to terms and then the extended family and friends and so on. Mental illness is treatable; people can recover and live productive lives. I look forward to your future posts. Perhaps if enough of us are talking about how stigma effects individuals with mental illness and their families and friends, more of society will realize mental illnesses are treatable like any other medical illness of the body and the stigma will become a thing of the past. Thank you Tom Ellis for addressing this issue. I, like many others feel stigma, (prejudice, discrimination, it has many nuances) creates barriers to treatment, employment, housing, and ultimately acceptance. You make many valid points and they’re well taken. It’s true that the individual effected by a mental illness has to come to terms first. Secondly, their family and friends have to come to terms and then the extended family and friends and so on. Mental illness is treatable; people can recover and live productive lives. I look forward to your future posts. Perhaps if enough of us are talking about how stigma effects individuals with mental illness and their families and friends, more of society will realize mental illnesses are treatable like any other medical illness of the body and the stigma will become a thing of the past.

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