Perspectives - Vol. 4, No. 2 - Mental Health Stigma and the Media: An Editorial Opinion

Increasingly the media (news, talk shows, newspaper editors) either out of ignorance or for sensationalism portray people with mental illnesses in a very negative light. The public may not take the time to educate themselves, and end up believing all that they hear, unconsciously making inaccurate correlations.

For example, how many times have we all heard, "people who are abused turn out to be abusers." While that statement can be true, it is not entirely accurate. Personally I know many people who were abused and yet have not turned out to be abusers. There are no steadfast rules about violence and mental illness. I read somewhere that less than 2% of people with mental illness are actually dangerous, yet ask someone you don't know if they think the mentally ill are dangerous and I think you'll be rather shocked at their response.

As a consumer (user of mental health services) I can point and show you where discrimination abounds. Let's start with the insurance companies that do not offer health care parity (equal coverage for health issues versus mental health issues). Even the government is involved with respect to this issue. Medicare covers 80% of a health condition yet only covers 50% of a mental health condition.

Many people pay for their mental health care out of pocket even though they have good insurance due to the stigma that could occur at work. If you go to get counseling through work chances are very good that someone will eventually find out, if not at that job then on your next one as insurance companies retain this information and commonly refuse to cover pre-existing conditions. Simply put, if you have been in therapy for something before and leave that therapist and later change jobs, your chance for treatment for that same condition decreases as it may be considered a "pre-existing condition."

When you go to many states' DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), there may be a question on the application for licensure that asks, "Have you ever been treated for mental illness, or been hospitalized for a mental health condition?" How many people answer that question honestly? No one I know of. Why do they want to know? What are they doing with that information?

The media in its various forms has helped perpetuate the existing fear the general population has of persons with mental illnesses. Now it's not all the media's fault. Some of the responsibility lies with persons who pretend to have a mental illness in order to get away with a crime. What I'm about to say may make me very unpopular with others who have MPD but, personally I think, even with MPD that the host should be held accountable. I know that I hold myself accountable for what my alters do. MPD is a defense mechanism not really an illness. The person splinters the thoughts, feelings and memories off from their direct consciousness in a most efficient, creative way, but one fact remains; it's all one body. For this reason I think people with MPD should be held accountable for all their actions.

The media doesn't hold itself accountable to disclose all the facts but rather relates only that which will keep the viewer watching. Consequently, the news has grown increasingly more graphic. Over the years, thanks to the media, people are nearly desensitized to violence from watching it repeatedly. Desensitization - from the repeated viewing of crime after crime, each more hideous than the last, along with live television coverage of a war in Saudia Arabia - is directly related to the human condition known as denial. From the privacy of our homes we watch a world going to hell in a hand basket.

This graphic coverage serves a purpose, but informing is not that purpose. It's about ratings and money but of course. How does this all effect people with mental illness you ask. People believe what they hear on the news -- no questions asked. The most common phrase you hear in the media these days is, "The attacker had a long history of mental illness." The public then correlates in its mind that all crimes are committed by people with mental illness. This just isn't the case. The mentally ill are more likely to be victims of a serious crime than perpetrators.

The problem of stigma is further exacerbated when movies about mental illness come out. For instance I'll mention only two (I am after all not a movie critic) although there are many more that could be mentioned. Two of the movies I've chosen to discuss star Richard Gere (a wonderful actor). The first movie Final Analysis, portrays a psychiatrist treating a woman who holds some secret in her past; turns out she's manipulating him throughout the movie while making it appear it's her sister doing it the whole time. This movie seems to validate the general publics opinion "be very afraid" of the mentally ill. Worse it portrayed mental illness as deceit and something that can be feigned.

The second movie, Primal Fear, is far more damaging to the credibility of my own diagnosis, MPD. Richard Gere portrays a lawyer defending a man who has killed an archbishop in the Catholic Church. Gere defends the man because he believes first the man was sexually abused and second that the man is suffering from MPD. Turns out that the man was faking it the entire time. Sadly, people walked away from that movie disbelieving that MPD even exists.

CNN last year did a piece in June, 1998 on Congress person Rep. Lynn Rivers (Democrat from Michigan) coming out publicly with her history of Bipolar Disorder (formerly known as Manic Depression). The fact that she's the only member of Congress to openly discuss her mental illness speaks volumes. If the media so chose, the stigma for mental illnesses could be eradicated. Many mental health organizations (some are non-profit) do not have the monies needed to launch an all out media campaign. Perhaps I'm an idealist, but if the media would take it upon itself to launch its own mental health education campaign and begin teaching the public on mental illness, stigmatism could be eradicated quickly; and isn't that what we all want; I know I do.

Reference:
Stubbs, P. (1999). Mental Health Stigma and the Media. [Online]. Perspectives. [1999, April 13].

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