Topic Tuesday // Stigma// Tues 14 May, 7pm AEST

[Jonty8]

@Former-Member  Basically confirmed a lot of my previous experiences with stigma and made me feel like isolating myself from the rest of society.

[Former-Member]

That's a great question @Former-Member 

Mental illness is a topic of public interest and the media is a major source of information for the community about the issue.  Australian research shows that media reports involving mental illness are extensive and generally well-handled, which is great 🙂

Some of the most common issues that we find ourselves talking to the media about are:

Stigmatising language - such as labelling a person by their mental illness or when referencing a suicide incident, using the phrase ‘committed’ which suggests a crime or a sin has occurred.  Problematic language examples include terms such as ‘mental patient’, ‘nutter’, ‘lunatic’, ‘schizo’, and ‘psycho’.

Details of suicide – reporting explicit detail about method has been linked to increases in both use of that method and overall suicide rates.  Describing locations of suicide is also problematic.

Lack of help-seeking information - it is recommended that a minimum of two help-seeking resources are included in any media item that touches on mental health or suicide.

[Zoe7]

I get annoyed when the media convey that a Mental Health Assessment is being undertaken when a crime is being reported ...as if that is the reason that they committed a crime - makes it hard with other people with a MI to come out and talk about it is portrayed so negatively in the media.

[Former-Member]

We feel frustrated too @BlueBay when we see stigmatising reporting in the media

[Former-Member]

@BlueBay @Jonty8 - that is so disappointing isn't it. Those feelings really have an impact - like you said @Jonty8 you even feel like isolating yourself. We will be looking at supporting ourselves in those experiences a bit further but for now, it's really powerful to understand the feelings that occur from stigma in the media. 

[Former-Member]

You're absolutely right @Zoe7 and unfortunately we see that quite often in media reporting.  The Mindframe guidelines encourage media to think about whether mental illness is relevant to a story

[Jonty8]

@Former-Member - Very disappointing. It definitely does have an impact. Sometimes my mental illess makes me feel like I'm on the fringes of society. To see it associated with negative things makes me not want to discuss it with anyone. 

[BlueBay]

@Former-Member @Former-Member 

I feel thst people don’t believe me when I say I have a mental illness. Can never mention BPD to people. Never. I feel I get looked at and spoken about just because I have a MI 

and it’s very hurtful 

[Former-Member]

@Jonty8 we hear that a lot from people who report to us at StigmaWatch

[Former-Member]

Thanks for continuing to share your feelings everyone and for the information @Former-Member  it's great in a community discussion to feel the support and shared experiences here. Let's move to the next questions!

Question for the community: when you have experienced Stigma, that could be in the media or in your day to day life, what have you done? Have you raised it with the person/people and how was your feedback received?

Question for @Former-Member : what can the community do if they see stigmatising reporting in the media? How do they let you know about it?