Mental illness and stigma is a topic that Mental Health Connect have been discussing for some time so it was with interest that we read a media release by SANE Australia last week entitled – CHANGING THE WAY WE SEE PEOPLE WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS. Here it is below in full:
Snapshots! Changing the way we see people with mental illness
Misunderstanding and stigma have a major impact on people with mental
illness. SANE Australia today launches a new initiative to help reduce this
stigma – Snapshots – through which people can get to know people affected
including family and others who care.
Reducing stigma makes an important contribution to improving the lives of
people with mental illness –from better understanding and support from
politicians and decision-makers, through to changed attitudes from
neighbours, workmates and others, and genuine inclusion in society.
Information alone does not change attitudes towards mental illness and
reduce stigma,‘ explains the Executive Director of SANE Australia, Barbara
Hocking. It is personal contact that makes the real difference.‘
By meeting people who are affected and hearing about their lives, we can
begin to see that they are ordinary people who have been through tough
times with their illness, and who have a right to the same respect as
everyone else,‘ says Ms Hocking.
As part of continuing efforts to reduce stigma, SANE Australia, the national
mental health charity, has developed Snapshots, which aims to make a
difference by changing how we see people with a mental illness; their family
and friends; joys and passions; struggles and pain; battles and despair; frustrations and triumphs and how people with mental illness see
themselves.
Using interviews and photographs, Snapshots (www.sane.org/snapshots)
invites you to get to know these ordinary – yet also extraordinary –
Australians, who reveal what it is like to experience mental illness from the
inside, and share their honest insights into recovery and the importance of
connections with other people.
This initiative moves right away from the inaccurate stereotypes and shows
people as they really are,‘ SANE‘s Executive Director adds. ‗Snapshots aims
to provide hope and encouragement by demonstrating how people can live
full active lives when managing mental illness‘.
Sally, one of the first participants in the project, stresses the importance of
emotional support from others when you have a mental illness. She
describes her mother as her ‗backbone‘ and they speak to each other almost
daily.
Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 19, Sally spent several years in her words
‗sick – very sick‘. Now, with the right doctor and the right combination of
medications, she hasn‘t been hospitalised for several years, is loving her
new job and enjoying everyday life with her partner.
It‘s been a tumultuous journey, but I‘ve learned from it,‘ Sally explains.
And I‘m excited to be a part of the Snapshots initiative because it it‘s an
opportunity to talk about life in a positive way,‘ she adds.
To read more of Sally‘s story and others too, visit www.sane.org
Mental Health Connect 