Individual is not their diagnosis!

Unfortunately there is a huge stigma placed on mental illness and those suffering with it.  I saw firsthand, how discrimination is shown against individuals with mental illness.  I worked for a company who provided supported employment for individuals with physical disabilities and mental illnesses.   The consumer I worked with worked at a retail pharmacy store.  She had maintained her employment for 3 years however, after a change in management the consumer’s work hours were drastically cut.  The manager attributed this cut to budget constraints; however after questioning other employees it appeared that only the consumer’s hours were cut.   After months of pleading with the new manager for not all hours back but merely half, the consumers was able to work enough hours to have her own “spending money”.    This is a very blunt example of direct discrimination.

Not only did my consumer get discriminated against by her employer, she also discriminated against herself if that makes any sense.    Internalized discrimination is described as negative thoughts and emotions an individual with mental illness has in regards to them and the mental illness.   This is very damaging because a lot of how we feel revolves around how we perceive things.   The most effective way to combat this is for the individual to educate themselves of the ins and outs of their mental illness.   Another good option is to join support groups to have the opportunity to talk with other individuals who are experiencing the same things they are.  They will be able to learn about coping strategies and techniques that may help during difficult times.   

Someone with mental illness must be their own advocate.  Once they realize that they are not their diagnosis they will be able to speak out about what they are dealing with.  This advocacy can help with structural discrimination, which is a community and society as a whole discriminating against individuals with MI.  If more people come in contact with someone who suffers with MI, and those people can inform more people, eventually the stigma about MI will decrease.  There are also campaigns such as the “changing mind campaign” that aims to increase public and professional understanding of mental health problems and to reduce stigma and discrimination.  There are many other campaigns and policies that are similar to this one.   

Here are 2 website that will provide more information on anti-discrimination and anti-stigma strategies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1489812/

http://www.successfulschizophrenia.org/stories/ritsbern.html