Jessica Sarah Martin
Dissertation submitted in
part fulfillment of the requirements for
BA (Hons) Journalism
Word Count of Content
(excluding table of contents/figures, acknowledgements, abstract, references
and appendix): 10,006
2015
The Portrayal of Mental Health throughout Media
Texts.
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Table of Contents
Appendix 5- “Time to Change” Stigma Shout-
who needs educated/targeted the most about mental health?
Ethical
consent forms inserted in back of document
Table of Figures
Statement of Originality
I confirm that I have fully acknowledged all sources of information
and help received and that where such acknowledgement is not made the work is
my own.
Signed: ……………………….
Dated: ……………………….
Acknowledgements
This dissertation has been made
possible thanks to the “Jam Centre” staff at Marjon University, who have taught
me a lot in my three years at the University of St Mark and St John. Their
support and constructive criticism, as well as great direction has lead to the
completion of this dissertation and I’ve learnt a lot during my time at
university-both in life and education.
I would especially like to thank my
dissertation supervisor Liam French. Liam is a constant fountain of knowledge
and has always delivered fantastic lectures during my time at university. An
absolute credit to the Jam centre. (Media and Journalism, University of St Mark
and St John).
Finally, I would like to
thank my parents for their continued support throughout my degree. I wouldn’t
have been able to do it without them.
Abstract
This thesis undertakes an analysis on the ways
in which mental illness is portrayed in media texts. The research and
methodology included contains statistics from scientific articles, government
documents and statistics, popular news articles, scholar texts, television and
campaign material; as well as a personal survey in which the data was collected
by myself. Mental health charities work tirelessly to end the stigma of mental
health and promote good mental health living. Charities such as the
“Samaritans” and “Time to Change” are well known and promote positive imagery
regarding mental health issues, and there are many more out there working hard
to combat the stigma of mental health. Social media has mushroomed over the
last few years, and its use has been linked to depression. There is also still
a stigma attached to mental health in the media, with tabloidization being part
of the problem. I looked at how mental health charities are working to combat
the stigma surrounding mental health in the media, and how mental health issues
seemed to be reported. It was interesting to see observe how mental health is
interpreted by the general public because of the media, the solution to the
stigma attached to mental health, and further research that could illuminate
the issue further. Mental health reported in an unfair way should be something
of the past. It is something the public takes an interest in and mass media
influences them, and they need to take responsibility of the part they play in
stigma and discrimination aimed at mental health sufferers.
Chapter 1 – An Introduction- Depressed Pilots, Facts and Figures
“When I began to study clinical psychology in graduate school and
learn about psychiatric disorders, my television viewing took on added
dimensions. I began to notice how frequently mentally ill characters appeared
in the shows I was watching, and how commonly those depictions deviated from
what I was learning about mental illness. I could not help but notice, in addition,
how generally unfavourable television depictions of mentally ill persons seemed
to be, with most of these characters appearing as killers and villains.” (Otto F. Wahl, 1997:13.)
It seems now mental health is everywhere in
the media especially with the recent increase in campaigns run by charities.
Even royalty have had their say, with Kate Middleton recently recording a video
in support of “Children’s Mental Health Week” which took place in February,
2015. Kate has been a patron of mental health since 2013. (Place2Be, 2015).
Place2Be, the organisation Kate works with, specialise in children’s mental
well being and feels it is as important as physical health. Not only do royalty
get involved in promoting the anti-stigma campaign but also celebrities.
1 in 4 people in the UK will
experience mental health problems every single year. (Mind, 2013).
Mental health problems will affect many, and in recent years statistics
have not changed significantly but worries such as jobs and benefits are
definitely on the rise leading to concern for the welfare of individuals. In
Plymouth, there has been a sharp rise in distressing calls from people
threatening to kill themselves urging specialist training to call handlers
which has been well reported positively in the local paper. (Plymouth Herald,
February 2015).
“Depressed pilots on medication for mental illness should not be
flying passenger planes. That's not insensitive - it's protecting lives.”
(Piers Morgan, 2015).
Due to the
negative press that circulated about mental health in March 2015 because of one
man’s actions, the charity ‘Mind’ reminded the press of their obligations in
the following statement-
Clearly assessment of all pilots’ physical and mental health is
entirely appropriate - but assumptions about risk shouldn’t be made across the
board for people with depression, or any other illness. There will be pilots with
experience of depression who have flown safely for decades and assessments
should be made on a case by case basis.
Today’s headlines risk adding
to the stigma surrounding mental health problems, which millions of people
experience each year, and we would encourage the media to report this issue
responsibly. (Mind, 27th March 2015).
People who suffer from mental illness
experience all of the key features of stigmatisation and these include being
labeled, set apart from others and have many negative connections linked to
them. The media has a responsibility when it comes to some of these opinions
and the media could be used as a tool for positivity as of course all forms of
media reach a vast amount of people. (Link and Phelan, 1999). It seems though
despite all the research into mental health and the media, things are slowly
taking their time to evolve into something that is positive. The study of how
media treat the mentally ill dates as far back as the 1950s. (Taylor 1957;
Gerbner 1959).
Facts and figures:
Every seven years, a survey is taken in
England to gage the number of people suffering from mental health issues.
Depression
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2.6 in 100 people
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Anxiety
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4.7 in 100 people
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Mixed anxiety and depression
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9.7 in 100 people
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Phobias
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2.6 in 100 people
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OCD
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1.3 in 100 people
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Panic disorder
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1.2 in 100 people
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Post traumatic stress disorder
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3.0 in 100 people
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Eating disorders
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1.6 in 100 people
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Figure 3 The Health & Social Care Information Centre, (Adult psychiatric morbidity in England House Hold survey, 2009).
A
quarter of the population will experience some kind of mental
health problem in the course of a year, with mixed anxiety and depression the most
common mental disorder in Britain. Women are more likely to have been treated for a mental
health problem rather than men and about ten percent of children have a mental
health problem at any one time. However, despite this, British men are three
times more likely to die by suicide than British women. Self-harm statistics
for the UK show one of the highest rates in Europe: 400 per 100,000 of the
population.
(Mental Health Foundation, 2015).
It will be interesting to see how much the
media influences the thoughts and feelings of British people living in the UK
today when it comes to their judgment of the mentally unwell. It’s also
interesting to see how people feel after seeing mental health reported in the
tabloids or seeing a mentally unwell person on screen. The rise in the use of
social media seems to be having a negative effect on the mental health of
people. Studies show that the more time an individual spends on Facebook or
other social media, the more likely it is they will suffer from depression. A
recent study into social comparison and computer-mediated interactions on
Facebook proved that user’s
psychological health is impacted. This is due to comparisons made socially
which left people feeling inadequate. (Mai-Ly N. Steers, Robert E.
Wickham, and Linda K. Acitelli, 2014). It seems that social media makes
everyone’s highlights seem like their “behind the scenes”, leading to
depression.
There are other illnesses that are popular in
the press such as the “Big C For Cancer”or “Live Well” by the NHS campaign
which have proven to be very successful. The thing that sets these charities
apart from mental health charities is the stigma. Samaritans is still very popular and well received with the public
however studies have shown mentally ill people are the most discriminated
against group when it comes to having a long-term health condition. People with
mental illness are the least likely of any group with a long-term health
condition or disability to find work; be in a steady, long-term relationship;
live in decent housing or be socially included in mainstream society. (Mental
Health Foundation, 2015).
This thesis is made up of various chapters.
Chapter 1 (the current chapter) is just an introduction to the piece. Chapter 2
and 3 include my literature review. This includes articles I’ve been reading
and researching over the last year or so that are of interest to my chosen
subject. These include things such as Mental Health and Celebrity Culture, Film
and Television, Social Networking, Tabloidisation, Cyber Bullying, Mental
Health in the media and talk of charities. Chapter 4 includes methodology and
ethics which continues on to chapter 50- here you can find my survey results. I
have analyzed my results in chapter 6 and written a conclusion about my findings
and the role of media in the portrayal of mental health.
Chapter 2 - Literature Review-
Tabloidization, Media Madness, Film and Television.
Over the last 50 years, in Western countries,
there has been an increase in “well-being” and self-improvement. (Barker and Buchanan-Barker, 2008) You could say
that emotions are taken very seriously in the culture of today. In a short
space of time, major advances regarding mental disorder are now appearing with
regularity, particularly in regards to treatment options. Things are changing
and for sufferers of mental health disorders, especially in more recent times,
as people seem to be “coming out of the closet” in regards to mental health
issues. Stephen Fry, a respected English comedian, often speaks of his issues
with mental health and his bipolarity. Greater awareness and communication have
taken us far from the days were human skulls, dating from thousands of years
ago, had evidence of bored holes that were created by other humans’ who had
pierced them with sharp, round instruments, presumably to aid the release of
evil spirits from inside their heads. (Stephen P. Hinshaw, 2007). The media
plays a huge part in mental health activism, with depictions shaping the
attitudes of the public through permeating advertisements, newspaper articles,
television, radio and film. The media is a means of communication by
organisations or individuals with targeted audiences which reaches a large
audience and a diverse range of people.
Mass media is always going to be involved in
modern culture. There are multiple theories about the influence media has on
our culture, and sociologists have studied these theories in depth. These
theories include the following:
Limited-effects
theory- the belief that people choose what to watch
or read based on their own beliefs as a person already and that the media does
not have any influence on their views. This theory originated from the 1940s
and 1950s. The studies looked at the ability of media to influence voting and
the results were that well-informed people relied on personal experience,
knowledge and their own reasoning. It is argued however that media “experts”
likely swayed those who were less informed.
Class dominant
theory- the theory that the media reflects and
projects the view of minority elite, who then in hand have control of what is
published. People who own and control corporations that produce media comprise
this elite. It involves massive corporate mergers of media which limit
competition and put big business in charge. The problem with this is that
ownership is restricted giving certain individuals the power to manipulate and
control what people see or hear. Many companies and networks receive millions
of pounds in advertising, from companies such as “Nike” or car manufacturers.
Due to this, many companies and networks will not run poor or negative adverts
for such products, because they are influenced by money they receive. There is
also the argument that the media is run politically. Examples of politically
influenced issues on mass media include environmental causes, the anti-nuclear
movement and the pro-Gulf War movement. This can be proven with political
themed papers, such as the far right “Daily Mail or Labour supporting “Daily
Mirror”.
Culturalist
theory- a theory developed in the 1980s and 1990s.
This theory combines the other two theories and is about people interacting
with the media in order to create their own meanings out of imagery and
messages from the media that they receive. Audiences choose to watch from a
wide range of options, and have the power to take in information at their own
digression. Culturalists believe that people approach material based on prior
knowledge and experience. This means their interpretation is widely based on
things such as age, gender, race, ethnicity or religious background. To
finalise, culturalists claim that while the elite may have control over
information media produces, perspective plays a bigger role in how it is
interpreted. (The Role and Influence of Mass Media,
2014).
The
media is the main source of information for most of the public in regards to
mental health. Richard C. Barnes and Stephen Earnshaw conducted a study which
examined two different formats of newspaper. (Barnes and Earnshaw, 1993).These included “The
Independent” (broadsheet) and “The Mirror” (tabloid). They collected all
reports related to mental illness over three months from October to December, 1992.
The mirror sales averaged around 3.5 million at the time whilst The
Independent’s averaged at 386,000. The findings were a total of 5 reports
regarding mental illness in “The Mirror” and 46 in “The Independent”. The
reports were divided up into four groups. The first group included information
about mental illness which totaled 7 (13%) in “The Mirror” and 15 (3%) in “The
Independent”. Of the broadsheet articles, 13 were written by journalists
compared to 2 written by medically trained writers. The range of illnesses
reported was wide, and some of the articles reported directly on published work
in psychiatric journals. In comparison, the tabloid newspaper had only 7
articles and no reports of scientific research. Over half the articles were
written by the newspaper’s resident medical journalist, a practicing general
practitioner.
Reports of individual cases of mental illness
formed the second group and the results were 39 (71%) in the tabloid paper and
20 (43%) in the broadsheet items. Despite such large numbers, it was reported
that only seven of the cases were reported in both newspapers. This brought the
total of 52 cases, 31 which related to criminal acts or suicide. The tabloid
newspaper contained a much greater report of suicides (31% compares to 10% in
non tabloid). These reports usually involved unusual terminology, such as “Love
Rift tycoon’s suicide horror” or “Santa’s suicide plunge”. On top of those
cases, 9 people with identifiable psychotic illnesses were reported, and all
these circumstances involved crime or murder. They were usually reported with
general humorous presentations (“Student Stuns Shrinks”, “My Girlfriend is a
Rover Metro”, “Little Boy eats nothing but Spam”). Nine more articles mentioned
doctors working in the psychiatric field, and all but two suggest negligent
practice.
In regards to terminology, the tabloid paper
contained nine examples of said “tabloid terminology”. This is where adjectives
which have become associated with the mentally ill are used to describe those
unlikely to be so... some examples of these are “Evil Psycho jailed for Life”,
“Crazed husband stabs his Wife to Death”, and “Drug-crazed madman holds a baby
to Ransom”.
Sadly, this study and results are not
surprising and it is no wonder that patients suffering from psychotic illness
were represented as violent criminals who commit murder or rape. It seems
sensationalism sells papers and psychiatric terminology (used in a negative way
such as “psycho”), is extremely popular when reporting horrible crimes.
In
conclusion of this study, it is clear to see the media has got an influence on
how the public sees those who are mentally ill and can especially influence
those who have possibly not been around mental illness themselves. All the
blame should not be placed on the tabloids however, and charities working to
end the stigma (such as Samaritans and Mind) could work together and hopefully
break some of the stigma. Tabloids will always do what they can to sell papers.
Another example of
mental health in tabloid media is the Michael Robert Ryan incident. A study was
carried out by Appleby and Wessely in 1988. They looked into the Hungerford
massacre and the public reaction towards the incident. In Berkshire, UK, 1987
Michael Robert Ryan shot and killed sixteen people, including his own mother
and then turned the gun on himself in an unprovoked armed attack.
After the Michael Robert Ryan incident, the
media focused on his ongoing mental health problems. At the time of the
reports, Michael Ryan’s mental state was actually unknown. The study found that
the public generally thought that crimes like multiple homicide where usually
committed by the mentally ill. However, Appleby & Wessely (1988) conducted
another test 6 months later. This newer study brought the conclusion that the
amount of people believing such crimes were carried out by the mentally ill
decreased. Appleby & Wessely (1988) believe that this was linked to the media
and media perception of the crime, which changes as time goes on. The way the
media cited the information and language used to report the incident implied
that Michael Ryan had a mental illness. For instance, the image above of the
“Daily Mirror” front page uses the words “maniac” which is usually a word
associated with someone who may suffer from a mental illness. There are other
studies such as Phil et al. (1994)
that also show two-fifths of the general sample believed that mental illness
was actually linked to violence. Those who disagreed with the dominant media
message were actually found to have personal experience with mental illness
themselves.
From the study, Philo et al. (1994) went on to argue that if there is going to be a
destigmatisation of mental illness, the media would need to produce less
stereotypical images of people who suffer from mental health problems. Phil et
al. (1994) believe that the problems do start with the media, and this can be
eradicated with the help of positive mental health promotion and the local
media working together. But the question is, would that sell papers?
In
1995, Meagher et al. examined the Irish Daily broadsheets and tabloid papers
issued between July and December 1993. What was found included three hundred
and eighty articles that reference psychiatric issues and the amount of
articles featured on the front page involving psychiatric issues amounted to
69.5%. It was also found out that very few mental health professionals had
actually contributed to the writing of the articles, making some articles
non-beneficial to the mental health communities and not very constructive nor
accurate. Despite the above, mass media is always going to be involved in
modern culture
2.2 Mental Health and Celebrity Culture
Within recent years, many mental health charities have popped up in the eyes of the media. They campaign tirelessly for better mental health services, awareness and ending the stigma that may come about from suffering with mental health. These charities go by the names of “Mind”, “SANE”, “Time to Change”, “Place2Be”, and “Samaritans” to name a few. For good publicity, most charities have ambassadors who promote the charity and encourage people to support their cause. In a world full of celebrity culture, mental health charities have jumped on the celebrity bandwagon and taken on celebrities to promote what they believe in. Frankie Sandford, a member of a girl band called “The Saturdays” is an ambassador for Mind. Other famous faces that back mental health charities include Denise Welch, a British actress and presenter who also helps promote mind; and in February 2015 Kate Middleton spoke out in support of children’s mental health issues as earlier mentioned. The press loved Kate’s video, and it was promoted in many tabloids and magazines throughout the UK. The Independent, The Telegraph, Hello Magazine and Daily Mail- to name a few- all wrote articles of praise towards Kate and spoke about how “empowering” her video message was. The coverage “Place2Be” got for using the Duchess of Cambridge was priceless in the publicity that followed from Kate promoting the charity. After all, she is royalty and getting someone like that to promote your charity will generate amazing publicity. It is noticeable that every celebrity has a story to tell- usually about their personal experience with mental health or about supporting a loved one who suffers with mental health problems. Even when it comes to something as serious as mental health- we are reminded daily that we live in the shadow of celebrity culture. Some argue that celebrities getting involved in charities for mental health are tinged with narcissism. Some believe that celebrities may experience an inner emptiness from fame and therefore seek to help others in ways they feel will give them a sense of peace.
Within recent years, many mental health charities have popped up in the eyes of the media. They campaign tirelessly for better mental health services, awareness and ending the stigma that may come about from suffering with mental health. These charities go by the names of “Mind”, “SANE”, “Time to Change”, “Place2Be”, and “Samaritans” to name a few. For good publicity, most charities have ambassadors who promote the charity and encourage people to support their cause. In a world full of celebrity culture, mental health charities have jumped on the celebrity bandwagon and taken on celebrities to promote what they believe in. Frankie Sandford, a member of a girl band called “The Saturdays” is an ambassador for Mind. Other famous faces that back mental health charities include Denise Welch, a British actress and presenter who also helps promote mind; and in February 2015 Kate Middleton spoke out in support of children’s mental health issues as earlier mentioned. The press loved Kate’s video, and it was promoted in many tabloids and magazines throughout the UK. The Independent, The Telegraph, Hello Magazine and Daily Mail- to name a few- all wrote articles of praise towards Kate and spoke about how “empowering” her video message was. The coverage “Place2Be” got for using the Duchess of Cambridge was priceless in the publicity that followed from Kate promoting the charity. After all, she is royalty and getting someone like that to promote your charity will generate amazing publicity. It is noticeable that every celebrity has a story to tell- usually about their personal experience with mental health or about supporting a loved one who suffers with mental health problems. Even when it comes to something as serious as mental health- we are reminded daily that we live in the shadow of celebrity culture. Some argue that celebrities getting involved in charities for mental health are tinged with narcissism. Some believe that celebrities may experience an inner emptiness from fame and therefore seek to help others in ways they feel will give them a sense of peace.
Christopher Lasch was a well-known American
historian, moralists and social critic. Lasch studied “The Culture of
Narcissism” and believes that –
“…people today hunger not for personal salvation, let alone for the
restoration of an earlier golden age, but for the feeling, the momentary
illusion, or personal well-being, health and psychic security.” (Richman and
Lasch, 1979:7).
Barker and Buchanan-Barker more recently
commented on the theory Lasch had by stating;
“Anticipating the
celebrity age, Lasch noted that in the absence of any sense of psychological
peace, meaning or commitment, people experience an inner emptiness, which they
try to avoid by living vicariously, through others, or in seeking spiritual
masters and other gurus.” (Barker and Buchanan-Barker, 2008:113).
They are citing that celebrities may have
other motives than to just help the mentally ill and it is somewhat of a duty
they take part in to make themselves ultimately feel better. Lasch calls this
“The Therapeutic Sensibility”. He states that people embrace change for
personal reasons rather than political reasons and possibly as a form of
therapy for themselves- to sum it up, helping others helps you to feel better
about yourself.
There is something interesting about using
celebrities on mental health campaigns. Frank Bruno, a famous boxer has said,
“As a boxer, you can always see the opponent you’re fighting. Mental
health problems, and people’s narrow-mindedness about them, are not so easy to
see. That’s why I pledge to support Time to Change – to help make this issue
visible and something we can all fight together.” (Frank Bruno speaking on behalf
of Time to Change, 2008).
As well as Frank
Bruno, Robbie Williams has talked a lot about suffering from mental health
issues.
“My first drug of
choice was probably fantasy. Fantasising about being an actor or being a
singer, going to the moon, whatever. And I don't know if that was to escape a
depression. With me, how my depression manifested itself was that I'd stop
going out. I lost the cog to socialise. Having said that, I'd get up in front
of 40,000 people and say, 'Look at me, I'm ace'. And then as soon as I got off
stage, I'd get in the tour coach and go back to my bedroom and pull the duvet
over my eyes.” (Robbie Williams, February 2007).
Celebrities are people that everyday people
look up to. Having them held so highly above us all can make them seem
untouchable. They are constantly worshiped more than your average person, have
a fan base and are seen as an inspiration to many. In a way, it’s telling
people that it’s OK to have depression or whatever they may be suffering from,
and that they are not untouchable to illness in life. No matter how much money
and fame you have- it can still affect you. I also think using celebrities in
mental health campaigns is a great idea as they help to reduce the stigma
attached. I am glad that celebrities have got involved in mental health and the
media, despite the fact some may feel they have selfish or narcissistic reasons
to do so. When a
celebrity talks about mental health, it is reported in a positive way by
tabloid papers and media alike. For example, in figure 5 Stephen Fry is
mentioned to be “brave” and seems to be a savior to people suffering from
mental illness.
Figure 5 "Brave" Stephen
Fry made me feel it's OK to tell people I hear voices, (The Sun Newspaper, June
2013).
There is no denying celebrity worship is a
massive cult, and the media coverage as well as fans are growing day by day-
with the help of online social media platforms also. Psychologists are
interested in the link between media coverage, celebrity worship and mental
health. It seems to be a coping mechanism that suggests disengagement.
Psychologists believe that engaging in celebrity worship may be for
intense-personal reasons and not as black and white as liking a famous model or
worshiping your favorite musician. McCutcheon et al. (2002) proposed an
‘absorption-addiction’ model to explain such cases of celebrity worship. (John
Maltby et al. 2004). According to the model, a compromised identity structure
in some individuals facilitates psychological absorption with a celebrity in
the attempt to establish an identity and a sense of fulfillment. When looking
at the dynamics of the motivational forces driving this absorption it seems
that there is some sort of addictive component in worshiping celebrities. This
can actually be harmful and lead to extreme behaviours. Extreme behavior can
also sometimes worryingly be delusional. The behaviours can become extreme to
sustain the individuals satisfaction with the parasocial (one sided)
relationship. Low levels of celebrity
worship have entertainment values; these can be things such as discussing your
favourite celebrity with friends and reading gossip magazines such as “Heat”
and “Hello”. This kind of celebrity worship can seem pretty harmless according
to Stever (1991). The next type of celebrity worship is Intermediate.
Intermediate levels of celebrity worship are a lot more intense. This is when
the person thinks things along the lines as their favourite celebrity being their
soul mate, and having thoughts and feelings about a celebrity that are
uncontrollable. This is a very compulsive obsession. The final and more extreme
obsession is labeled borderline worshipping which is pathological. The traits
of this can include behaviours such as spending hundreds of pounds on bizarre
items from the celebrity (for example, a used napkin) and even going as far as
saying they would do something illegal to help out their much loved celebrity. This
behavior reflects the individual’s social pathological attitudes and behaviours
that are held in result of worshiping a celebrity.
Social pathology came about in the late 19th
and 20th century when sociologists grouped together human actions
which ran contrary to ideals of residential stability, property ownership,
sobriety, sexual and in general social aspects of people’s lives. (Sociology
Guide, 2015).
2.3 Film
and Television
Film and television
regularly are entwined with mental health stories- especially British soaps. It
seems like they enjoy making a good drama out of a crisis, and after all people
do watch such shows for entertainment value and drama. Examples of mental
health stories in British soaps include the Belle Dingle storyline on
Emmerdale. Emmerdale’s team took great care in their handling of the story as
they aimed for an accurate and sensitive portrayal of mental health in the
soap. The story was based on a young girl who was traumatised after
accidentally killing another cast member and spent time in a youth offenders’
institute. It was handled well and important that the team did approach the
issue in a sensitive way and recognised this needed to be done correctly.
Another example of mental health in a British soap was the bi-polar story line
in Eastenders.
Time to Change run an anti-stigma
campaign with Mind and Rethink Mental illness. They work closely with soaps to
tackle attitude and understanding of running controversial story lines.
“The story of Jean
and Stacey has had a powerful effect on how the bipolar disorder is perceived
now," revealed Siobhan. "It has helped people to understand it can
happen to anyone at any time. We know that EastEnders episodes get people
talking about bipolar disorder and this goes a long way towards understanding
what it’s like to live with it. With the return of Jean and Stacey, we’re
enthusiastic to continue supporting EastEnders with their storylines so that
viewers can learn more about mental health and feel better informed.” (Siobhan
O’Neill, Time to Change, 2014).
To help with their campaign, Time to Change
worked with Glasgow Media Group. The purpose of this was to review three months
of TV drama and identify how mental health problems were being portrayed. It
was interesting to look at the research and see the impact that was had on the
viewing public. They called the report
“Making a Drama out of a Crisis”. Due to the fact television shows inform so
many, television is a great way to reach a wide audience and can give
information through that channel with things such as diagnoses, symptoms,
treatment options and the road to recovery. Following their research, Time to
Change asked viewers to recall seeing storylines about mental health and how
they felt the characters were depicted. The results of the survey were as
follows:
77% said characters often experienced discrimination
due to their mental health.
57% said characters are often likeable.
45% said characters often pose a risk to
others.
39% said characters are often violent.
54% said that it helped to improve their
understanding of mental health problems.
48% said it helped to change their opinion
about the kind of people who can develop these problems.
31% said it actively inspired them to start
a conversation about the storyline with friends, family or colleagues.
(Statistics calculated 872 supporters of Time to Change survey
responses, October 2014).
Those
statistics speak volumes and the one that speaks volumes is the discrimination
viewers often felt characters experienced. This number is still extremely high
but with charities working together it can hopefully be reduced in the near
future. I’m glad it helped change opinion on mental health but it’s sad that
39% feel they are portrayed as violent when watching soaps.
The research by Glasgow Media group in 2010
(an earlier study) showed that many TV characters with mental health problems
were portrayed as violent. The most recent study in 2014 still proved that
there were still violent stereotypes found but it had improved within recent
years. This development is of course greatly welcomed by Time To Change and
their campaign in ending negative stereotypes. An example of this in 2014 was
from a show called “Sherlock” (BBC One, 2014). One of the characters in
Sherlock named Moriarty was shown in a padded cell, wearing a straitjacket.
This would be understandable and acceptable if the series wasn’t set in the
present day. The reinforcement of non-factual information can be damaging.
Even movie theatres are not immune to influencing people- Terminator 2
(1991) is a popular film that has been viewed by millions of people, and made $31,765,506 (USA) (7 July 1991) in the opening weekend. (1991 Carolco Pictures Inc.). As Otto F. Wahl
points out, most people would pay attention to its impressive special effects
and breath-taking action sequences and not even think of it as involving
portrayals of mental illness. However, most of the opening half hour takes
place in a psychiatric hospital. The audiences also received inaccurate
diagnostic information about schizoaffective disorder. This is negative because
although the movie is not meant to be educational, people still come away with
opinions as they are absorbing the information. If you have seen something like
a popular film portraying something in a certain way, it can stick on your mind
as the amount of people who say fictional stories help improve their
understanding of mental illness was over half at 54% from the sample of people questioned. (Time To
Change, 2014).
According to Bandura’s social learning theory,
learning can be achieved through not only direct experience but also through
observation. Individuals can learn a great deal about the world through what
they see and hear, particularly through media sources. (Bandura, 2002). This is
why the media matter as this can be applied to tabloid, television and press.
Cultivation theory suggests that heavy exposure and recurrent messages will
eventually be engrained in an individual’s mind; thus teaching them how to
react or feel when they experience or see certain things. The two most
important mass communication theories, (cultivation theory and social learning
theory), can explain how the media are responsible for how mental illness is
portrayed. The theories work together to create recurrent messages that are
being vicariously learned. (P.A. Sout et al., 2004).
Chapter 3- Social Networking- getting connected with Mental Health
Most people will know about Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and various other social networking sites. In 1971 the first ever
email was sent and now 40 years later social media has reached new user highs.
Social media includes multiple internet sites that let people from all over the
world interact through discussion, photographs, video and audio. Facebook is
one of the largest social media sites in the world. As of October 3rd
2013, there were 500 million people using Facebook. (Visually, 2013).
British charity ChildLine found cyberbullying
on the rise; with a reported 4,507 cases of cyber bullying in 2012-2013
compared to 2,410 in 2011-12. (Childline, 2013). Cyber bullying can affect a
child’s mental health massively, with some individuals even killing themselves
over abuse they’ve received over social networking. The “Megan Meier”
foundation is a charity that has been set up as a result of these unnecessary
deaths. Megan struggled with lifelong self-esteem issues and was the victim of
MySpace and its 70 million users. Her mother feels that a horrible message which
was found on her computer after her suicide resulted in her death. Sadly, this
is not a rare case. Ask.Fm, an anonymous site linked to teenagers suicides,
vowed to crack down on bullying or shut the site. (The Guardian, 2014). Ask.fm
got new owners in 2014 and made it their mission to put an end to bullying.
Users of Ask.fm can set up profiles and have their friends and even strangers
send them messages and questions anonymously. The site has been labeled a
hotbed for bullying. Despite these promises, a quick search shows the site is
still up and running and it seems easy to log on and ask anyone a question-
anonymously or not. This gives a platform for bullies to bully not only in
schools, but in the comfort of their own home which can never be a positive
thing. It can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression,
anxiety, severe isolation and tragically as mentioned above, suicide.
Facebook and Instagram have been linked to low
self-esteem and depression also, as mentioned in the introduction. Many studies
have proven this theory. An example of these studies include a recent study
named “Seeing Everyone Else’s Highlight Reels: How Facebook usage is Linked to
Depressive Symptoms” by Mai-Ly N. Steers, Robert E. Wickham and Linda K.
Acitelli. They conducted the study by using two different studies which
investigated how social comparison to peers through computer-mediated
interactions on Facebook might impact users’ psychological health. (Steers,
Wickham and Acitelli, 2014). The first study did reveal an association between
time spent on Facebook and depressive symptoms for both genders. The results in
the end however demonstrated that making Facebook social comparisons mediated
the link between time spent on Facebook and depressive symptoms for men only.
The study was done using a 14-day diary design book. Study 2 found that the
amount of time spent on Facebook and depressive symptoms was uniquely mediated
by upward, non-directional, and downward Facebook social comparisons. In study
two, gender did not moderate these associations unlike study one. Both studies
provided evidence that people felt depressed after spending a lot of time on
Facebook due to comparing themselves with others in a bad light.
Social
comparison is when an individual compares themselves to other people. People
tend to only put up what they want to put up and can portray themselves in a
way that may not be accurate to their current situation. The more time spent on
social networks, the more time a person has to socially compare themselves to
others and this in turn creates an increase in daily depressive symptoms. The
reasons contributing to the results of the studies can be proven by previous
research. People often display idealized or hoped-for possible selves on
Facebook, through various modes of identity construction. (Steers, Wickham and
Acitelli, 2014). Frequently viewing these constructions can intensify negative
cognitions behind the scenes. This may be because people feel that no one else
feels negative emotions in life and everything is always perfect, shown through
perfectly executed photographs and statuses that may only highlight good things
that happen in their life.
Steers,
Wickham and Acitelli say a flaw in their research is the fact that the negative
health outcomes associated with Facebook use may not be inherent to the
platform, but rather the unintended consequences to how people choose to use
this medium. Certain individuals may be more likely to compare themselves to
others’ highlighted reels on dimensions they feel are personally relevant and
other people may not respond in the same way. The results may also not reflect
the general population and only a small percentage.
When it
comes to mental health and social media, I do wonder if people should look at
the content they see with open minds. As long as there is a healthy “real”
life/social media balance, I feel social media can be used in a productive way
and the way it was intended- to network with a range of people you may not usually
be able to. If you keep in mind that social media does not always reflect
reality, it should be easier to stay positive whilst using it. This is a hard
balance for young people to decide on however, seeing as social media is the
main way in which most young people communicate with friends these days. With
anything in life, I feel it’s a case of controlling the usage or amount you
take in.
Chapter 4 – Method in the Madness- Methodology.
To look
into the subject of mental health and the media further, I decided to do a
study of my own. I created an online survey on a website called “Survey
Monkey”. I named it “Mental Health Portrayal in Media Texts.” In order to get
results, I shared the survey with various people I
knew both online and in person. Although on a small scale, I really wanted to
get the opinions and views of those around me as well as the results of
national surveys. Although I felt the results would sway towards the media having
a negative influence on the people around me, I didn’t expect it to be on such
a large scale. I also got some text answers, and I wasn’t surprised that most
people still believed that there is a negative stigma still attached to mental
health issues, especially in the work place. It was important to keep ethics in
mind when conducting this survey. I used two methods to research mental health
in the media- human participants and pre-existing material.
1)
Human Participants
The participants in my survey were human.
Human participants are defined as living human beings, human beings who have
recently died (cadavers, human remains and body parts) or fetuses and embryos.
Human participation can be direct, through physical presence, activity of
interaction as well as being indirect. Being indirect would include provision
of secondary material such as tissue/body fluids, data, records images or
opinions. I decided to go down the data and opinion route.
According to the Data Protection Act of 1998, appropriate consent is the core consideration of formal interaction when involving a person in a defined activity. Organisations such as ESRC, BERA, BPA and SRA all stress that gaining informed consent is regarded as the central element to ethical research. All of my applicants were over the age of 18, so I didn’t need to worry about the ethics that involve children in research. Before people took the survey, there was a disclaimer explaining what the survey was for (dissertation research) and how it would be used. I also took the information anonymously, as I felt it would make people feel a lot more open about sharing information with me. I also filled out the appropriate ethics from and got my supervising lecturer to sign it. This was to make sure what I was doing was appropriate and I understood full the ethics of collecting information.
According to the Data Protection Act of 1998, appropriate consent is the core consideration of formal interaction when involving a person in a defined activity. Organisations such as ESRC, BERA, BPA and SRA all stress that gaining informed consent is regarded as the central element to ethical research. All of my applicants were over the age of 18, so I didn’t need to worry about the ethics that involve children in research. Before people took the survey, there was a disclaimer explaining what the survey was for (dissertation research) and how it would be used. I also took the information anonymously, as I felt it would make people feel a lot more open about sharing information with me. I also filled out the appropriate ethics from and got my supervising lecturer to sign it. This was to make sure what I was doing was appropriate and I understood full the ethics of collecting information.
2)
Pre-existing material.
This material may range from statistical data
and records to human tissue surplus to routine care. Secondary date sets
include data that is from the Office of National Statistics of the UK Data
Archive which are anonymised and available in public domain. Any restrictions
must be respected.
Chapter 5- Mental Health in the Media Survey Results
Figure 10 Have you ever seen a media
text that has left you feeling positive and informed about mental health
issues?
Figure 11 Do you feel the media
should take any responsibility when it comes to mental health and education?
Chapter
6- Analysing Results from my Personal Survey
In figure 6, the graph represents the question
“How often do you notice mental health issues in the media?” 37.84% of 37
responses say often (14 people). In comparison only 5.41% say they never notice
mental health issues in the media (2 people). The most popular response was
sometimes, 21 people answered at 56.76%. Going from previous research into the
subject of mental health in the media and my literature review, these results
came back as I thought they would. I am shocked however that 2 people never see
mental health issues in the media. I assumed that everyone would have at least
noticed mental health in the media at some point in their life, but it’s still
a low number. Going by the high results of those who chose often and sometimes
notice mental health in the media, it is important the media take
responsibility as to how they report the illness. People are obviously noticing
what is being said in the popular press around them.
In Figure 7, I wanted to know more about the
people taking part in my survey. I asked them if they had firsthand experience
or known someone who suffers from mental health problems. The reason for this
was to see how much they actually know about mental health before answering the
rest of the questions. Some people may have had more experience dealing with
mental health on a personal level or know someone close to them who has
suffered from mental illness. A whopping 89.19% of the participants said yes (33
people). 8.11% have had no experience with mental health problems (3 people).
2.70% preferred not to answer. I was expecting this to be the case. I left the
survey open for anyone to answer, over the age of 18 and I assumed people
interested in mental health would be the people who would take part in the
survey. It doesn’t matter if they didn’t know anyone or had experience of
mental health though- this makes it interesting to see the responses for how
they feel mental health is portrayed in the media.
I then went on to ask a text response
question. This gave the participants a chance to have their say in writing and
not just a general yes or no answer. The question was “do you feel there is a
stigma attached to mental health?” (Can be seen in Appendix 1). One person
decided to skip this question but I got 36 responses in total. Two individuals
noted stigma in the work place by quoting; “Slight stigma in some areas
(employment)” and “Yes. Especially in the work place”. Another stated “Yes -
but I have seen adverts when they have tried to make mental health less taboo”.
The majority of people just simply stated “yes”. One participant answered no,
saying there is not so much stigma these days. Another two said there is still
stigma but it’s not as bad as it was a few years ago. This means the majority
do still feel there is a stigma attached to mental health. One participant
believes despite the stigma people are becoming better informed on mental
illness. I have to agree with that, a few decades ago mental illness was a lot
more taboo and the Samaritans was founded in 1953. From the results, only one
person said a definite no. This speaks volumes, that despite there being plenty
of celebrity support, charities, anti-stigma campaigns and mental illness shown
on television; people still think there is a stigma.
My next query how often do you see crime and mental health linked in tabloid papers?
(Figure 8). I was expecting the answer for this to be often. Whilst completing
my literature review, it was clear to see that many crimes that happened seemed
to have some kind of mention to the mental health surrounding the person they
were reporting on, and as mentioned earlier they used describing words such as
“psycho” in headlines or news stories. I was correct in thinking that the
participants would believe that crime and mental health are linked in tabloid
papers. Not one person said “never”. 56.76% (21 people) said sometimes and
43.24% (16 people) said often.
When people were asked if they ever had any
negative feelings towards mental health patients after reading or watching
something produced by the media, the answers were interesting. This was a text
response question. I got 35 response and 2 people skipped this section.
Here are some
examples of answers, the rest can be seen in Appendix 2:
“I feel that people become scared because when
something happens and is reported in the media, the mental health aspect is
focused on. Care in the community frightens people also as they do not know
enough about mental health conditions and it is this fear of not knowing that
frightens people.” (Survey Monkey, 2015).
“My experience has been in the main with children and young people and more recently older people there are the majority of people stereo type behaviour based on media rather than the behaviour being a distress reaction.” (Survey Monkey, 2015).
“Sometimes I feel they haven't helped themselves. Some people play on mental health issues too.” (Survey Monkey, 2015).
“No because unfortunately sometimes it is not the person with mental health issues fault - the person is ill. “(Survey Monkey, 2015).
BBC 'doctors' one of few programmes that portrays mental health issues positively and follows through.many 'murder' programmes love the killer to have serious mental issues.often feels like media is saying ev1 with mental health issues is a psychopath?tabloids often blame people with mh issues for crimes b4 there is any evidence of them even being connected. (Survey Monkey, 2015).
No - but as a healthcare profession who has been
attacked by mental health patient in the past I tend to keep my distance.
(Survey Monkey, 2015).
The majority of the people replied with no.
However, some answers did confuse me. For example, the health care professional
who says they tend to keep their distance yet didn’t have any negative feelings
towards mental health sufferers. To me, that is a negative stereotype and it
seems they have judged mental health patients as a whole even though they don’t
think they have. This could be the reason why there is still stigma with mental
health- people don’t think they are judgmental but still make judgments. The
majority said no they do not judge, giving reasons such as they themselves
suffer from mental health problems or that the person who is ill is not aware
of their behaviour being different. 5 people said yes about having negative
feelings after seeing something in the media. One participant felt it is used
as an excuse for bad behaviour. 2 people said they sometimes feel negative
after seeing texts in the media.
Figure 9- How important do you think the medias influence on mental health is?
Figure 9- How important do you think the medias influence on mental health is?
This was answered by 36 people and skipped by
1. 77.78% of people feel that the influence the media has on mental health is important
and it sways a lot of people’s views. 19.44% believe it doesn’t change their
opinion at all and 2.78% responded with a comment saying the media need to
research mental health before commenting on it or publicising it. Again, the
numbers are high when it comes to the power of the media influence but from my
literature review they are what I expected.
For Figure 10, I asked the opposite of what I asked in Appendix 2. “Have you ever seen a media text that has left you feeling positive and informed about mental health issues?” 54.05% (20 people) of the total responses (37 people) said no. 31.14% said yes (13 people) and 4 people stated other which was 10.81% of the total vote. The other answers where as follows- “sometimes”, “On Facebook”, “Occasionally” and “Unsure. I think I have in the past”. It seems that some people just can’t remember seeing something positive. Over half feel they have never seen anything positive. This is something that should also be taken into consideration by the media.
For Figure 10, I asked the opposite of what I asked in Appendix 2. “Have you ever seen a media text that has left you feeling positive and informed about mental health issues?” 54.05% (20 people) of the total responses (37 people) said no. 31.14% said yes (13 people) and 4 people stated other which was 10.81% of the total vote. The other answers where as follows- “sometimes”, “On Facebook”, “Occasionally” and “Unsure. I think I have in the past”. It seems that some people just can’t remember seeing something positive. Over half feel they have never seen anything positive. This is something that should also be taken into consideration by the media.
My final question, as shown in the graph in
Figure 11, was me asking if they feel the media should take any responsibility
when it comes to mental health and education. 36 people answered this question
and 1 skipped. A large 96.67% of people said yes the media should take
responsibility when it comes to mental health and education, which totaled 33
inviduals out of the 36 that answered. 5.56% (2) of people said no they
shouldn’t and one other person responded other with the following statement-
“as long as the media deals in facts and doesn't use a genuine illness
as an excuse to get more viewers/readers” (Survey Monkey Respondants Answer,
2/2/2015).
It is clear to see that people feel the media needs to take responsibility when it comes to dealing with mental health, and they should take part in educating the masses. This is because they do create stigma from what they portray. The results of my personal survey were interesting but as expected from looking at previous readings and research (such as the “Time to Change” statistics in section 2.3). I was expecting people to feel there is a high amount of stigma attached to mental health and the media and I was correct. My dissertation survey was open to both male and females, but I asked them to be over the age of 18 before completing the survey. This was because of ethics and I also wanted people of an older age who may have more knowledge and awareness about mental health in general.
It was only a small sample of people- in total
37. I would have liked to have collected
more but I didn’t want to force people into doing the survey. It was also
online, so I couldn’t go out in public and ask for the general public to fill
out results because of my ethical approach. Instead, I shared it on social
media sites I own including Twitter and Facebook. It helps to answer my hypothesis on the link
between mental health stigma and the media.
6.1 Time to Change “Stigma Shout” results analyses
Time to Change ran a campaign called “Stigma
Shout” in 2008. It was a survey that looked into people’s experiences of mental
health discrimination and had some very interesting and thought provoking
results. They wanted to change the culture of mental health forever and used a
four year programme to help combat the growing problem of mental health
discrimination. According to Time to Change, stigma and mental health
discrimination prevents people from seeking help, delays treatment, impairs
recovery, isolates people, excludes people from day-to-day activities and stops
people getting jobs. They got the results from their survey by either on-line
results or on paper. 1,790 users responded on paper and 1,248 responded online.
The people who responded to the survey were service users but also carers and
it helped identify where stigma and discrimination takes place. 397 carer
responses were received on paper and 264 were received online. In appendix 3,
69% of people believed they had been treated differently because of their
mental health problems and in a negative way. Sadly, the fear of stigma stopped
service users doing what they want to do also- 71% felt they couldn’t do what
they liked.
9 out of 10
service users (87%) reported its negative impact on their lives. Two-thirds
stopped doing things because of the fear of discrimination. This is an
extremely high number and saddening to hear. They were also asked who they feel
needed educated when it came to mental health. Not surprisingly, the biggest
response was the media (see appendix 5). This view was held by both the service
user and the carer. The question was “which one location should we target with
an anti-stigma campaign?” Yet again, this proves my theory that the media have
a big impact on the way mental health is portrayed by consumers.
Their solution to the stigma surrounding mental health was to run workshops and campaigns that actively promote and educate people on the subject of mental health. They also went on to launch a social media campaign in January 2009. Two types of stigma and discrimination were explored which included actual and anticipated.
Their solution to the stigma surrounding mental health was to run workshops and campaigns that actively promote and educate people on the subject of mental health. They also went on to launch a social media campaign in January 2009. Two types of stigma and discrimination were explored which included actual and anticipated.
Disclosure was a great problem for many
people, which includes things such as job applications. The anticipated fear
stopped people from applying for jobs as they did not want to talk about their
illness. This can be seen in appendix 4. People felt more anxious about
anticipated discrimination in most cases, and it would help if this was
highlighted more often. It would take away the anxiety of certain situations.
This can be the result of low-self esteem and lack of motivation. Sadly, there
was more actual discrimination in employment than anticipated discrimination. However,
the disclosure of mental illness was actually more anticipated stigma rather
than actual stigma and discrimination which is a positive. I therefore feel
that people need to be educated, both the sufferer and the carer, on actual and
anticipated discrimination.
Time to Change came up with a solution to help
decrease negative thoughts and feelings about mental health. They came up with
various strategies which included ‘open up’- a mix of 32 local and 8 national
projects that tackle discrimination in communities, social marketing- using one
of the greatest tools out there right now to challenge attitudes towards mental
illness, get moving- an annual mass participant event that brings people
together with physical activities, legal minds- supporting high profile cases
and changing the law to protect people from mental health discrimination, their
website, anti-stigma training- aimed at medical students and trainee teachers
which support new generations of practitioners and lastly community action.
They also felt it is important to educated working people in general, as the
mentally ill want people to ‘include them’ and to ‘treat them like any other
work colleague’. (Time to Change “Shout Stigma, 2008). I feel this is extremely
positive but feel more needs to be done in order for this to grow into
something more successful that it already is, as with previous research stigma
is still here in 2015. Time to Change believe the best approach to education on
mental health and discrimination should be factual (98% of users in the survey
said they would like this), hard-hitting (79% of users said this would be best
and lastly humourous (69% of users wanted this approach).
6.2 Conclusion
With 1 in 4 people suffering from mental health issues in the UK (Mind, 2013), it’s really not uncommon. There is a very high possibility that someone you know will have a mental illness, or have had one in the past. From this study, I have realised that although mental health charities do work hard to combat the stigma of having a mental illness, there is still a massive stigma surrounding the issue. This is proven with past research and my current research on the subject. A perfect example of stigma actually happened in the press whilst writing this thesis; a mentally unwell pilot crashed a plane. The tabloid papers soon reported how awful it was that he was even allowed to fly in the first place- according to figure 1 he had a long history of depression and was a danger to the life of others. Although there may be some truth to it, some papers worded it in a way that made it seem all mentally unwell people cannot work in jobs of responsibility. This is untrue, in my opinion and if it was the case there would be a lot of people out of work. The results match up to my expectations, however. There is definitely stigma attached to mental illness, and there is a lot of stigma in the media still. It’s still a massive issue that impacts on the life of people and stops people engaging in every day activities.
I also
noticed when crime is committed, the media usually picks up on mental illness
in the person or may use words such as “psycho” to describe the individual or
other demeaning words (figure 4). However, it’s interesting to note if a
celebrity comes out with a mental illness they are seen as “brave” by the media
(figure 5). The contrast in wording gives a confusing message, but in all
fairness one is a positive story and the other is linked to crime. It is
important to keep in mind though that despite the media giving out information
that may be discriminating, it’s up to people to take from it what they wish. There
has been a lot of research put into stigma and mental health over the years,
such as the research “Time To Change” has completed. That alone, however, does
not seem to completely illuminate discrimination. It is still out there, in our
faces, and it’s not hard to find. People are probably subconsciously absorbing
negative information daily.
The government
needs to be more involved, and slowly but surely they are becoming more aware
that something needs to happen- on the 25th of March 2015 the Deputy
Prime Minister realised this was the case. There is progress, and although it’s
slow it’s happening. Nick Clegg has promised a £1.25 billion investment to
bring about a seismic shift and revolutionise children’s mental healthcare, £31
million over the next 3 years to help up to 40,000 people with mental issues
back into work and £8.5 million investment over 5 years to 10 dedicated
veterans mental health teams to increases support and treatment for servicemen
and women with some of the most complex mental health needs. (Gov.uk, March,
2015). Hopefully, this is the start of big changes to come when it comes to the
issue of tackling mental health discrimination, and the government is committed
to promoting wellbeing and adopting good mental health policies.
What has come to light is the need for the implentation
of education strategies to inform and enlighten professionals who work in the
media, about the importance of portraying mental illness in a more positive and
accurate way. It is also the responsibility of the Health Professionals to
educate the public about mental illness and its treatments. This could be done
with education- leaflets in public places and doctor’s surgeries that get the
message out there that mental illness is a very common illness and can be
treated successfully in most cases. 96.67% (figure 11) is not a figure that
should be ignored when it came to people saying yes to the media taking
responsibility for what they post and portray when it comes to mental health.
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Appendices
APPENDIX 1
Do you feel there is a stigma
attached to mental health?
·
Answered: 36
Skipped: 1
Slight stigma in some areas (employment)
Slight stigma in some areas (employment)
2/16/2015 6:49 PM
Yes.
2/15/2015 11:52 PM
Yes
2/15/2015 7:00 PM
Yes
2/15/2015 6:35 PM
Yes - but I have seen adverts when they have
tried to make mental health less taboo
2/15/2015 5:10 PM
Yes
2/15/2015 4:51 PM
Yes
2/15/2015 4:32 PM
No .. not these days.
2/15/2015 4:10 PM
Yes
2/15/2015 10:31 AM
yes
2/15/2015 10:03 AM
Its not as bad as years ago....but yes i feel
there is still a stigma attached.
2/15/2015 9:44 AM
Not as much now as years ago
2/15/2015 9:43 AM
Yes
2/15/2015 2:14 AM
Yes, it's invisible so not taken as
seriously. It can be seen as 'weakness' rather than illness.
2/15/2015 12:55 AM
Yes
2/15/2015 12:37 AM
Yes
2/15/2015 12:27 AM
Yes
2/14/2015 11:59 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 11:55 PM
yes.
2/14/2015 11:14 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 10:52 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 10:29 PM
yes
2/14/2015 10:26 PM
Yes at all levels of society
2/14/2015 10:21 PM
yes
2/14/2015 9:23 PM
Absolutely. Doesn't help people saying
depressed when just a bit blue
2/14/2015 8:58 PM
Yes because it's difficult for people to get
their heads around
2/14/2015 8:38 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 8:30 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 8:16 PM
Yes very much so
2/14/2015 7:59 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 7:54 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 7:46 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 7:42 PM
Yes
2/14/2015 7:21 PM
Yes, bit it is getting less as people are
becoming better informed.
2/3/2015 9:36 PM
Yes. Especially in the work place
2/2/2015 3:19 PM
Yes, people with mental health issues are
often given negative stigma
2/2/2015 1:12 AM
APPENDIX 2
Have you ever had any negative feelings towards mental health
patients after reading or watching something produced by the media? Please
explain why/why not.
·
Answered: 35
·
Skipped: 2
Answered
by 35, skipped by 2.
No as I have mental health problems and I can
understand
2/16/2015 6:49 PM
BBC 'doctors' one of few programmes that portrays mental health issues
positively and follows through.many 'murder' programmes love the killer to have
serious mental issues.often feels like media is saying ev1 with mental health
issues is a psychopath?tabloids often blame people with mh issues for crimes b4
there is any evidence of them even being connected
2/15/2015
No
2/15/2015 7:00 PM
No
2/15/2015 6:35 PM
No - but as a healthcare profession who has
been attacked by mental health patient in the past I tend to keep my distance.
2/15/2015 5:10 PM
No
2/15/2015 4:32 PM
No
2/15/2015 4:10 PM
No
2/15/2015 10:31 AM
no
2/15/2015 10:03 AM
I feel that people become scared because when
something happens and is reported in the media, the mental health aspect is
focused on. Care in the community frightens people also as they do not know
enough about mental health conditions and it is this fear of not knowing that
frightens people.
2/15/2015 9:44 AM
Not really as I have family experience and
can understand enough behind it
2/15/2015 9:43 AM
Yes. They refused help and the next day the
murder someone.
2/15/2015 2:14 AM
No. I believe reporting gives you a platform,
then you decide for yourself.
2/15/2015 12:55 AM
I have had negative feelings towards my
bi-polar family member in the past as I was angry when she went off her meds
and then trouble ensued for the rest of the family
2/15/2015 12:37 AM
Yes, they are sometimes portrayed as using
mental health issues as an excuse for criminal behaviour.
2/14/2015 11:59 PM
My experience as been in the main with
children and young people and more recently older people there are the majority
of people stereo type behaviour based on media rather than the behaviour being
a distress reaction
2/14/2015 11:55 PM
no. personally i dont believe Everything i
read in newspapers.
2/14/2015 11:14 PM
No there is usually a reason why
2/14/2015 10:52 PM
No!
2/14/2015 10:29 PM
no only because I have a family member with
mental health problems and I understand how the media can make it a negativity
2/14/2015 10:26 PM
No you have to look past the media even
mental health issues that are drug alcohol induced happen for s reason.
2/14/2015 10:21 PM
Yes I have although I do try to put things
into perspective and think outside of the media article(s)
2/14/2015 9:23 PM
No u need to understand someone and
circumstances. Before u judge anything
2/14/2015 8:58 PM
Yes. Sometimes it's used an excuse for doing
something wrong
2/14/2015 8:38 PM
Yes ppl do not understand the issues involved
2/14/2015 8:30 PM
Sometimes I feel they haven't helped
themselves. Some people play on mental health issues too
2/14/2015 8:16 PM
Don't think we should judge we have no
knowledge on there background until we have the full facts
2/14/2015 8:09 PM
Because I like to find out what happened to
them to cause their behaviour rather than judging them for it and I know first
hand how much judgement gets placed on people with mental health issue which
angers me
2/14/2015 7:59 PM
No because unfortunately sometimes it is not
the person with mental health issues fault - the person is ill.
2/14/2015 7:54 PM
No
2/14/2015 7:46 PM
Ni. They aren't aware of there behaviour
being different
2/14/2015 7:42 PM
No! It's not their fault that they should
wrongly be accused because of their affliction!
2/14/2015 7:21 PM
No negative feelings.If there was a negative
outcome I just surmise that they must have been poorly managed so it's the
health professionals i would have negative feelings toward,.
2/3/2015 9:36 PM
No because as someone who has suffered from
mental health issues I know it can change you. Therefore I don't feel negative
towards others
2/2/2015 3:19 PM
Because of the association with crime it
gives the impression that a majority of criminals must be suffering from mental
health issues and it also gets mentioned a lot in court cases in the criminals
defense
2/2/2015 1:12 AM