Help, not isolation, for mental illness

[HuckleB]

Erasing the stigma of mental disorders is half the battle
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/mar/21/erasing-stigma-of-mental-illness/

"If you have a loved one who’s having heart problems, you’ll probably encourage that person to see a doctor and talk about it with friends and other family members. But if you are worried someone close to you may have a mental disorder, the common reaction is to keep it to yourself.

“Many people still see mental illness as a weakness in character,” said Shannon Jaccard, CEO of National Alliance of Mental Illness San Diego (NAMI San Diego). “The brain is an important organ. If your heart has issues, why wouldn’t the brain be susceptible?”

Americans are slowly starting to consider mental disorders as true illnesses, Jaccard said. She added that, because the Affordable Care Act has made mental health care more accessible, more people are seeking help for mental-health issues. Yet, despite these signs of progress, biases have persisted for decades.

“Answers to recent survey questions like: ‘Would you live next door to a person with a mental illness?’ or ‘Would you let your child marry someone with a mental illness?’ are still ‘no,’” Jaccard said. “Those stigmas haven’t shifted.”

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A good read, indeed.

[HuckleB]

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[man of few w]

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