The stigma mentally ill people encounter is nowhere as bad as it was in the past, but there is still enough to make people who are mentally ill feel set apart, beyond the separation caused by their illness itself. The public needs to be informed that most psychotics are not criminal or even harmful and what they have is not catching. A bigger part has to be taken in this education process by those of us who are mentally ill. Groups like Mind Freedom and Hearing Voices should grow and spread. The voices from these groups will show the people carrying the weight of their illnesses to be seen as self-directed, strong and able to use the healthy part of them to take a hand in their own destinies.
Menu