While on her psychiatry rotation, med student Natalie Wilcox, experienced first hand the stigma that surrounds psychiatric diagnoses. However, not only did she see how stigma affects patients, but she noticed that it also affects medical students and health professionals in the way they treat patients with addictions and mental illnesses, as well as the way they view and value the psychiatry profession. Read more here: "Psychiatry is Devalued: And Patients Suffer Because of It". "Instantly the man straightened up, “So you think it’s the ‘D word?’ I really don’t want that diagnosis.” I had never heard of depression referred to as the “D word,” but it definitely struck a chord with me. This man was so uncomfortable with the idea of being associated with a mental health diagnosis that he couldn’t say the name. At one facility where I rotated, psychiatric services were hidden in a corridor known as “behavioral health.” Patients with diagnosed mental health issues saw “stress management” workers, a title intended to disguise psychologists and psychiatrists. How can patients be expected to feel comfortable with a psychiatric diagnosis if clinics themselves refuse to identify the services as such? Such euphemistic doublespeak only serves to undermine the progress made in psychiatric care and reinforce the stereotypes associated with mental illness and its methods of treatment." Recently in January, Yale University lost a student to suicide. Just prior to to her death, the student had posted a worrying tweet that alluded not only to her current mental health state, but also to the withdrawal and readmission policies at Yale that have come under fire in the last year. The article below reviews these policies and how they are viewed by students and more especially, how they affect those with mental illness ... "Yet, a more cynical interpretation voiced by some students is that Yale effectively treats those with serious mental-health conditions as liabilities rather than as members of the community. A junior studying psychology at Yale who asked to remain anonymous said that the way Yale deals with mental health "creates a culture of shame and silencing and self-silencing," which makes it hard to "feel that you can speak openly and be heard as a student about mental-health issues." She added that Yale’s withdrawal and readmission policies make undergraduates unwilling to be open, above all in regards to suicidal thoughts, self-destructive behavior, and debilitating depression. Discussing these conditions, the student said, may lead officials to question whether a student should be at—or is fit for—Yale." "When Mentally Ill Students Feel Alone" by Andrew Giambrone (The Atlantic) First there was Movember, an annual event starting in the early 2000s involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, including prostate cancer and more recently depression and suicide among men. However, this year a new event has begun to sweep the nation ... #MulletMarch, where individuals grow mullets during the month of March to help raise awareness of and funds for mental health issues. "The idea for March Mullet was born in the city of Barrie, Ontario over what started as a casual conversation. It was inspired by the idea that like Mental Health, the Mullet too faces the stigma of being society’s great outcast ... Every cent raised is donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association, Simcoe County Branch" (http://www.starttalking.ca/march-mullet). To find out more check out these stories and websites: https://marchmullet.org/ http://globalnews.ca/news/1855838/the-next-movember-mullet-march-raises-funds-for-mental-health/ Amelia Tait, a writer for VICE, recently opened up about her own personal history with an eating disorder and shares how for her the battle with her weight and food was unrelated to the Barbie dolls she grew up playing with or the models in the magazines she used to read; a unique stance in today's society. In the thought-provoking article "My Eating Disorder Had Nothing To Do With Barbie or the Media", she interviews others with anorexia, who developed disordered eating behaviours not necessarily because of media influence, but because of other mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, and OCD, and because these behaviours provided a way to seek relief from stress and gain a sense of control over their lives. "It is pretty obvious that the media does perpetuate unrealistic body standards. The most common example is that, if Barbie were real, she'd have no liver and walk on all fours, but the question is: does it matter? The implication is that unrealistic body standards lead to eating disorders, which is an argument I believe reduces a severe mental illness to a vain aspiration to be a runway model—something I have never personally aspired to. 'A lot of people don't see eating disorders as actual illnesses," Carrie Arnold, a 34-year-old freelance science writer, author, and recovered anorexic tells me. 'They see them as choices. And thinking that eating disorders are caused by images of thin models really serves to drive home the point that they're all about vanity.'" |
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Supporting and enhancing students' and health professionals' knowledge and understanding of mental health and psychiatry
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