Psychiatry and Society

Media portrayals of mental illness propagate prevailing myths and increase associated stigma. Media and Stigma Mass media – TV, cinema and newspaper – are the primary source of mental health information for the general public. The mentally ill are usually shown in poor light; and images of unkempt, violent and dangerous men predominate. This greatly affects the public’s view of the mentally ill, causing them to fear, avoid or discriminate against people with mental illness. This is even true for TV programs and stories for children. From an early age mental illness is seen as less desirable than other illnesses. Negative images such as these affect those with mental illness , damaging their confidence and self-esteem. It makes them more isolated and withdrawn and they are more likely to stay away from therapy. In one study, as many as 50% of patients reported that a negative media portrayal had a negative impact on their illness, with 34% saying that it directly led to a...

Aptitude testing for responsible work choice Aptitude testing for career guidance has existed only since the 1930s . Aptitude testing was not needed until work choice became freely available about 200 years ago. Before that a person had no choice in his field of work. People trained for whatever their parents did. If they had access to patronage or money they could take up a profession. Now, with the concept of Right to Education, governments seek to extend career choice to all socioeconomic strata. With this new privilege of work choice comes the responsibility of choosing wisely. Aptitude testing takes into account abilities, personality, intelligence and motivation for making a career choice. Work choice a brief history For 10,000 years we did the work our parents did. In the initial millennia of mankind’s existence, work was necessary for survival. Primitive man was a hunter-gatherer to fulfil the biological need for food. As the first human settlements evolved man be...

Treat schizophrenia as you would any other serious medical illness in your teenager "My 18yr son is aggressive, hearing voices, and not sleeping." "Since the last two months he is not attending college. He talks to himself in his room and is not going out with his friends." "He feels he is being tracked through the TV and yesterday assaulted his mother when she put it on." "We tried taking him to our doctor but he refuses saying there is nothing wrong with him." This is a common introduction to the more severely ill teenagers presenting at Pathfinder Clinic. Why teenagers with schizophrenia refuse to see a psychiatrist  Teenagers refuse to see a psychiatrist for illness related and personal reasons Illness related factors Schizophrenia is a brain disease. Your teenager has difficulties recognising his own symptoms. In schizophrenia there are changes in brain structure, chemistry and functioning. The individual is unable to ...