Connect with people who understand what you are going through, seek advice and surround yourself with support. We're free, anonymous, and professionally moderated 24/7.

47,612Members
1,358,869Posts
1,400,000Visitors

Speaking out about MI stigma

kristinSenior Contributor13 Dec 2014, 1:33 pm AEDT

Speaking out about MI stigma

Dear all,

I've just written to the editor of Tha Daily Telegraph in response to this horribly stigmatising article from yesterday.

Below is a copy of my letter, no prizes for guessing whether publication of the letter or an apology will be forthcoming.

Time to weed out the disability rorters: Crackdown on $16 billion welfare scheme

I'm appalled at the stigmatising language and placement of "information" in this article. The most offensive part:
"More than 30 per cent of DSP recipients are claiming handouts on the scheme because they have a psychological or psychiatric condition.
Mr Andrews said weeding rorters out of the system would be a win for people who have a genuine disability that stops them from working."

The first sentence's wording implies those claiming DSP for psychological or psychiatric illness aren't eligible for them and are receiving "handouts". Having the second sentence following on immediately after implies all who are on DSP for psychiatric illness are rorters, rather than suffering genuine disability.

Disability (permanent or no, physical or psychological) does not necessarily equal inability to work. When employers, including government, are unwilling to employ people with disability - this in itself is disabling! Many on DSP would love to work, but can't find suitable ongoing employment. Some cannot work.

Many people with psychiatric illnesses are as severely impaired as people with obvious physical disability. It is not unusual to find a significant proportion of those with psychiatric disabilities are survivors of childhood abuse, including sexual abuse. This can lead to long term conditions such as PTSD. Finding appropriate help for such conditions is terribly difficult and requires long-term help.

I'm sure there are a few people who do rort the system. However to suggest, deliberately or inadvertently, all claimants do is plain ignorance or at least laziness. An apology would be appreciated.

Cheers, K

15 replies

11 - 15 of 15

1 2

In response to: Speaking out about MI stigma

kristinSenior Contributor20 Mar 2015, 8:10 pm AEDT

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Dear all,

I've just written an email to the journalist who wrote an article with a very MI stigmatising comment at the and of his article. Here's the email

Re: Your article: How to silence an abusive neighbour

Dear Mr Thomson,

I just found this article from 7/2/2015.

Here is a quote from the end of the article:

"I suspect there may also be a mental-health issue here ..."

What a breathtakingly stigmatising assumption! I could say rather a lot of sarcastic things about your ability to make diagnoses long-distance, and suggest your mental health expertise is lost on real estate.

But I won't say a lot about that. Instead I will ask you to apologise. I doubt that you would have written this sentence substituting any of the following words for mental-health: female, Muslim, aboriginal, disability. So why do you think it is ok to say this with the MH words?

Actually I do have a mental-health issue. I suffer from complex post-traumatic stress disorder due to the neglect and abuse I suffered as a child. I try to live my life treating others as I would like them to treat me. Most people I know with mental health problems are far more likely to be abused than be abusive, they are sometimes frightened of other people.

I also have abusive neighbours - spiteful people who like to flatten my tyres and tamper with my gas bottles in the middle of the night (yes repeatedly, funny how it stopped when I installed security cameras on my house). I still try to treat them as I would like to be treated, and I try not to react to their bad behaviour by inflaming it further. I don't know the state of their mental health, and if it were poor it would be no excuse. Nor is there any excuse for your highly stigmatising, totally inappropriate and unnecessary comment at the close of your article.

Yours sincerely,

Kristin

In response to: Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

NikNikSenior Contributor23 Mar 2015, 2:37 pm AEDT

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Hi Kristin,

It would be great if you could also send this into stigma watch through SANE.

The more voices, the better.

Nik

In response to: Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

kristinSenior Contributor23 Mar 2015, 5:14 pm AEDT

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Hi Nik,

I actually sent it to Jenni at the same time as I emailed and posted it! It was a rather octopus-like effort but I did it I was pretty angry. I heard back from Jenni about it today, asking me to let her know if the journo replied. If not she will post it on Stigma Watch.

Kind regards,

Kristin

In response to: Speaking out about MI stigma

TerrySenior Contributor22 Dec 2015, 6:07 pm AEDT

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

I think calling schizophrenia 'integration disorder' is a great idea as it explains the illness somewhat - people hearing the term 'integration disorder' will understand that somehow there is a lack of integration in the mind. this is much less scary and much more 'understandable' than 'schizophrenia' which currently has a terrible stigma. i was sceptical when they renamed 'manic depression' bipolar disorder (especially since i rather liked being a manic depressive along with shelley and nina simone etc) but the change worked - bipolar is not as stigmatised as 'manic depression' although people still aren't sure what it means and 'manic depression' does actually describe the illness, unlike 'schizophrenia'. 'integration disorder' definitely sounds more understandable and less threatening than 'schizophrenia'. as i say, i was sceptical when they renamed manic depression but the new term, 'bipolar', is definitely accompanied by less stigma. let's rename 'normal' people as individuals with 'ideal brain pathology delusion syndrome'. hee hee!

In response to: Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

AppleblossomSenior Contributor22 Dec 2015, 6:26 pm AEDT

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Ha ha @Terry thats been a little bit of my approach. Now that I am older and seen a bit more of the world.

I agree its high time schizohprenia gets relabelled and better categories worked through ... even when I read an old psych nurses handbook from circa 60s ... they had to point out Bleuler's coining of the word doesnt really fit.

Atm I am reading an old treatise on Moral Philosophy..where the term "maniac" is used ... I prefer to talk about intensity to mania ... but thats just me.

11 - 15 of 15

1 2