Introduction After a mass shooting, America frantically searches for the cause of the sudden and violent event. Society has repeatedly blamed the mentally ill, despite the fact that there is little correlation between violence and mental illness. In the past few decades, there have been numerous highly publicized mass shootings in which the shooters were mentally ill, such as the Virginia Tech Shooting and the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. These few, but detailed examples of violence committed by the mentally ill suggests that these situations occur frequently, however, they do not. In order to address the repeated blaming of mental illness as the cause of mass shootings, one must understand that the stigma of mental illness in society …show more content…
Stigma is “... a socio-cultural process by which members of marginalized groups are labeled by other people as abnormal, shameful, or otherwise undesirable” (Michaels, Lopez, & Corrigan, 2012). A 2013 nationwide survey revealed that 46% of Americans believed that the seriously mentally ill were more likely to be dangerous than members of the general public (McGinty, Webster, & Barry, 2014). These negative attitudes are also held by mental health professionals, which most likely results from them “...working with patients when they are in the most disturbed phase of their illness, despite this not being a typical characteristic of everyday mental illness” (Cleary, Deacon, Jackson, Andrew, & Chan, 2012). Society tends to view individual violent acts as a comprehensive representation of the mentally ill as a whole, but this violent depiction of mental illness is inaccurate in most cases. In fact, “...less than 3% to 5% of US crimes involve people with mental illness … [and] fewer than 5% of the 120,000 gun-related killings in the United States between 2001 and 2010 were perpetrated by people diagnosed with mental illness” (Metzl & Macleish, 2015). However, stigma is not based on facts. Stigma consists of general stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination (Michaels et al., 2012). Discrimination results in withholding opportunities from the mentally ill. “Discriminating against an individual may produce …show more content…
In recent years, the topic of mental illness in the news has focused on its relation to violence, despite the fact that, in America, only four percent of violence can actually be ascribed to mental illness (McGinty, Kennedy-Hendricks, Choksy, & Barry, 2016). Depictions of the mentally ill in the news are typically negative. For example, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that in 400 randomly selected news stories about mental illness from 1995 to 2014, fifty-five percent mentioned violence in relation to mental illness, but only seven percent of the stories portrayed successful treatment or recovery by the mentally ill (McGinty et al., 2016). This abundance of negative stories leads the public to believe that violence by the mentally ill is common, however, these instances are rare. This is a major problem because other research from Johns Hopkins University has shown that news stories about mass shootings committed by the mentally ill heighten negative attitudes toward people with serious mental illnesses (McGinty, Webster, & Barry, 2013). Due to the negative attitudes toward the mentally ill, the blame is more frequently and quickly placed on mental illness. Reporters often immediately look to mental illness as the cause of mass shootings. For example, soon after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, the media claimed that the shooter, Adam Lanza, was an
Mass Shootings The evidence that was provided by Butler was very clear and understanding. First, Butler uses the study published in The American Journal of Public Health, authors Johnathan Metzl and Kenneth Macleish, find that in mass shootings “notions of mental illness” mirror “cultural stereotypes and anxieties about “race/ethnicity, social class and politics. ”(Butler 1). Furthermore, each race seems to have a label.
In the past few years, there have been some tragic outcomes for police cases involving individuals with a mental illness. Before the Sammy Yatim case, there have been cases involving; Michael Eligon, Sylvia Klibingaitis, Robert Dziekanski, and Paul Boyd. Each of these individuals posed a threat to the community and each also had a mental illness, and initially shot by a police officer. A recent case that has been raising awareness for police shootings resulting death involving an individual with a mental illness is the Sammy Yatim case. As like the other related cases, Yatim had a mental illness and posed a threat to the community.
Stigma of Mental Illness The stigma of mental illness has a staggering presence in American society. Stigma is “... a socio-cultural process by which members of marginalized groups are labeled by other people as abnormal, shameful, or otherwise undesirable” (Michaels, Lopez, & Corrigan, 2012). A 2013 nationwide survey revealed that 46% of Americans believed that the seriously mentally ill were more likely to be dangerous than members of the the general public (McGinty, Webster, & Barry, 2014). These negative attitudes are also held by mental health professionals, which most likely results from them “...working with patients when they are in the most disturbed phase of their illness, despite this not being a typical characteristic of everyday mental illness” (Cleary, Deacon, Jackson, Andrew, & Chan, 2012).
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum in a historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia. This is a great tourist attraction if you love 18th-century history. I myself have never been, but after reviewing the site, I can’t wait to take my family. There were several different elements that make up this community. Of course, you will learn about the major events, but the most intriguing thing to me was the everyday life experiences.
January 8, 2011, who knew that Jared Lee Loughner would fire a gun killing 6 victims and injuring 13 including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona. Many people may know him as the mugshot grin guy, but others see him as mentally unstable. There are many questions that come to mind when thinking of this tragedy such as how the role of politics play apart in this incident, what was his mental condition at the time of the crime, and how would treating his mental illness play in his defense. By exploring Jared Loughner’s early life and psychological issues, one can gain a better understanding on the case and the guilty verdict.
In summary, mental illnesses are induced by a chemical imbalance of the brain; they range from depression to borderline personality disorder to schizophrenia, and without proper treatments, they could result in abnormal behaviors including criminal tendencies, violent outbursts, and sudden mood swings. Mental health is a topic which is often stationed on the back burner. In fact, many mentally ill people are not diagnosed or treated because mental health is not a part of the standard educational system. Police officers are inadequately equipped with the knowledge of how to deal with the mentally ill, and dozens of cases have been in the news of police not knowing how to react to their erratic actions (Times).
There are six components causing stigma associated with mental illness, and the sequence of the component does not suggest the order of the impact instead it show how each component influence among themselves (Link and Phelan, 2013). In conclusion, Link and Phelan (2013) concluded that differential distribution of social, economic and political power were the most significant in contribution to stigma. Scambler (2009) agreed to Link and Phelan statement and stated stigma required power to stigmatise. According to Parker and Aggleton (2003) as cited by Scambler (2009), stigma function when culture, power and difference intersect among one another affected individual suffering from mental
Studies continuously present that the media displays immensely ostentatious as well as thwarted depictions of the mentally ill, which emphasize aggressive and erratic behavior. The media shapes critical and condemnatory responses towards the mentally ill from society, which include fearfulness, rejection, and ridicule. The media is to be blamed for promoting stigma along with prejudice against the mentally ill. This stigma has proven to be more disabling than the illnesses that these individuals have. Media depiction of the mentally ill is often exaggerated, which leads to the overall portrayal being misleading and generally inaccurate.
An alarming fact provided by the article “Mental Health & Stigma” reports that in a recent survey that was conducted in UK, over 1,700 adults were asked what they believed about mental health issues. Many of these adults felt that people with mental health were dangerous, self-inflicted, and that ultimately people with mental health problems were difficult to talk to. These views are thought to come from previous beliefs that people with mental health illnesses are often violent or unpredictable. Hearing misunderstood common beliefs like these are the number one reason that many students do not seek help when it comes to their mental health (National Alliance on Health Issues 1). Unfortunately, it was also stated in the same article that people who participated in this survey felt this way regardless of their age, knowledge of mental health, and whether or not they knew someone with a mental health problem (National Alliance on Health Issues 1).
Many individuals with mental illness(es) face prejudice, because of this ignorantly popular assumption, and suffer from disadvantages such as making friends, socializing without being questioned about their mental stability or noting uncomfortable body language of their company, job stability, being patronized by family, and, generally, defamation of character. A study conducted by Mental Health, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work exhibited the correlation between the media portrayed of mental health, and the derogatory wordage used for them, “Negative stereotypes presented in the media may contribute to the stigma associated with mental illness. People’s attitudes towards the mentally ill are initially influenced and subsequently maintained in part by the frequent media presentation of negative stereotypes of mental illness. This could result in social rejection of individuals with mental illnesses.” (Murphy, Fatoye, & Wibberley,
Stigmatization of Mental Illness- D.I.D. Have you ever had to think about if something exists or not? Has someone ever told you that something is a lie that you believe in? This is what happens when you are in a world with mental illnesses and disorders like DID in it. Dissociative Identity Disorder or what used to be Multiple Personality Disorder (DID or MPD) is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as “one of several dissociative disorders with the key element being the presence of at least two distinct and separate personalities within an individual.” Mental illnesses have a strong stigma behind them that needs to be broken because they do exist and it doesn’t create bad people or broken people.
Much of the criminal activity that takes place today is heavily related to the lack of treatment for mental illness. According to the US National Library of Medicine, approximately 60% of shooter in mass shootings that took place in the United States after 1970 displayed symptoms of acute paranoia, delusions, and depression before committing their inhumane acts. I am sure that most of you are aware of the Sandy Hook shooting that took place on December 12, 2012. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza took the innocent lives of 20 students as well as the lives of 6 staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Lanza had displayed key signs of mental illness as young as the age of three.
Stigmatization of mental illness existed well before psychiatry became a formal discipline, but was not formally labeled and defined as a societal problem until the publication of Goffman’s book (1963). Mental illnesses are among the most stigmatizing conditions, regardless of the specific psychiatric diagnosis. Unlike other illnesses, mental illness is still considered by some to be a sign of weakness, as well as a source of shame and disgrace. Many psychiatric patients are concerned about how people will view them if knowledge of their condition becomes public Mental health stigma can be divided into two distinct types: • social stigma is characterized by prejudicial attitudes and discriminating behavior directed towards individuals with mental health problems as a result of the psychiatric label they have been given and has those types stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination Stereotypes are based on knowledge available to members of a group and provide a way to categorize information about other groups in society Prejudiced persons agree with these negative stereotypes, and these attitudes lead to discrimination through negative behaviors toward mentally ill individuals those negative perceptions create fear of and social distance from mentally ill persons. • perceived stigma or
In accordance with the beliefs of scholarly experts in the field, the strong prevalence of stigmas linked to psychological disorders within society cannot be denied. A stigma, in this case, “can best be understood as the loss of status by, or discrimination of, a person because of an attribute that others evaluate disapprovingly” (Saldivia et al., 2104). Individuals who suffer from a mental illness are deeply affected by the judgment of others, often influencing sufferers to avoid seeking treatment in order to avoid public shame and humiliation (Masuda, Price, Anderson, Schmertz & Calamaras, 2009). Some of the most recognized psychological disorders stigmatized within the general population, and even some healthcare circles, include the following:
Despite the evidence supporting talking about mental illness in media there is some evidence still unsupportive for this idea - opponent claims- focus on negative points such as: crime and violence. In addition, there is no direct correlation between mental illness and violence; sure, a small handful of misdiagnoses can interrupt a person 's connection to reality, causing them to believe things that are untrue (Friedan, 2008). Theoretically, this could lead to violent behavior. Practically speaking, though and research has shown no connection between mental illness and violence. And even if it did, its unlikely depression would be the condition that leads to violence, since depression is not associated with delusions, psychosis, or other forms of disconnection from reality; here comes the media for linking these points to be against talking about mental illness in media explain that: if mental illness is shown in media its encourages the violent behaviors, this reaction is reflected badly on mental