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 It makes them more isolated and withdrawn and they are more likely to stay away from therapy.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...

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 ...

What is the motivation or psychology behind obtaining a tattoo? Tattooing as a form of decorative body art has moved out of the realm of cults and organisations into mainstream society. It is increasingly common to see patients sporting a new tattoo. " Just like that, doctor. My friends were getting one ". The Pune magazines reflect this new found art form through full page articles every other week. Driving through the some parts of Pune takes you past at least three studios specialising in the art of tattooing. Here we are concerned with the psychological aspects of tattooing. As compared to body-piercing, a tattoo is relatively permanent and more deliberate operation. For the moment set aside doubts over hygiene, HIV, and hepatitis. 10 reasons people get a tattoo Beauty, art, and fashion . Tattoos are a means of decorating the body with a permanent fashion accessory. Many tattooed individuals refer to their tattoos as a piece of art.  In...

Discrimination of mentally ill persons by hospitals A young woman with psychiatric illness was refused admission at a leading tertiary care hospital in Pune. The reason - “mentally unstable patients are known to cause harm not only to themselves but to others as well. The hospital lacks facilities and infrastructure for catering to psychiatric patients.” A similar unwritten policy of denying inpatient care on grounds of psychiatric illness exists in at least one other large corporate hospital in Pune. We have already stressed the importance of access to healthcare for persons with mental illness . We will now further explore the stereotype of harm in mental illness. The stigma associated with this stereotype has an adverse impact on timely delivery of healthcare to persons with psychiatric illness. Are mentally ill persons likely to harm other hospital inpatients? Hospital and healthcare settings have the highest levels workplace related violence across all industry sect...

Some excerpts (reproduced with permission) from responses to my last post. " My Dad was a closet alcoholic " " ...asking for help on alcohol consumption for my friend's son who will soon turn 19 years...parents now try to monitor his timings, where he is but he is slippery and generally seems to be ahead of them. " People may know that a loved one requires help with an alcohol habit or other behavioural or emotional problem. The reluctance to seek help is mainly due to the stigma attached and the individuals lack of insight (blindness to the presence of the illness). How does the family or society (a neighbour) get the person to a psychiatrist or other mental health professional? Individual choice and potential for harm are in the balance I've listed out some methods  - by no means exhaustive - used successfully by other caregivers. They are in descending order of individual choice and autonomy. Use your discretion. How to get a ...

A family tragedy was played out through a small article in the Pune news . In a fit of rage a mentally ill woman set her daughter alight while she was asleep. The narrative was short and the item tucked into one of the inner pages under a largish headline.  This was the reason - the why - mental illness     A glib explanation for a horrific event lays the entire burden of its causation at the doors of a mental health disorder. The World Health Organisation  (WHO) has estimated that one in four persons  will have a mental health disorder at some stage of life . Violence is rarely a manifestation of mental illness In this rare cause of burning (mental illness), the burning of her daughter is an indicator of the severity of the mother's mental illness. Yet society, of which this news item is a barometer, has unquestioningly accepted mental illness as a sufficient cause. In a nation with about 0.48 mental health workers of any kind  for every 100...