Treat others as you'd treat yourself

Marked as different

It came as no surprise to this correspondent that mental health issues still carry strong stigma, but Dr Najim’s presentation immediately brought this home with two damning statistics:

• A study by Philo from 1996 showed that 66% of depictions of mental illness on TV focused on violence
• Half of mental health patients surveyed in the MIND study from the UK, also from 1996, reported that media coverage had a negative effect on their mental health

This relentless negative societal pressure brings its own damaging psychological effects, causing diminished self-efficacy, social withdrawal and acceptance of others’ low expectations. This hopelessness and lack of prospects are a factor in the high suicide rate of people with mental illness.

Physician, heal thyself

Mental health stigma is not just a problem with the general public – half of those responding to the MIND survey felt they had been discriminated against by the medical services, partly because the mental illness masked physical illnesses. But these negative attitudes are not limited to how healthcare professionals view their patients. Many healthcare professionals conceal their own mental illness for fear of professional and personal stigma, and a potential undermining of their credibility. This denial of illness delays treatment and is likely to play a part in the high suicide rate amongst medical students and young doctors.

The impact of mental health stigma within their own ranks struck a particular chord with the audience, as a number of delegates spoke of the importance of tackling attitudes to mental health within healthcare before moving on to deal with stigma from the general public. An increased focus on mental illness in medical students’ curriculums and an integration of mental health units into general hospitals (rather than keeping them separate and reinforcing the sense of “us vs. them”) were both suggested as positive steps forward.

Hope and change

Despite the challenges that mental health patients currently face, Dr Najim did present evidence of the potential for improvement. The example that particularly stuck with this correspondent was the positive attitude of the Norwegian people towards their prime minister taking time off with depression in 1998; an attitude that is likely linked to a mass media campaign in 1992 aimed at de-stigmatising mental illness, which showed a sizeable shift in both knowledge and acceptance.

Some time ago, this correspondent was struck by hearing a bipolar I patient talk about being labelled, “Oh, she’s bipolar”, and contrasting that attitude with the fact that you’d never hear other patients described that way – “Oh, she’s cancer”.

There’s a long way to go, but seeing the collected knowledge, passion and positivity present at this conference, this correspondent has faith that mental health attitudes and outcomes, both in the general public and in healthcare professionals, can only improve.