Discussing Mental Illness on Internet Forums

Posting on internet forums can be an enjoyable past-time and it is one in which I engage in everyday more or less. But what about when the discussion turns towards mental illness?

Unfortunately, as everyone knows, internet forums are plagued with people posting ignorant and, sometimes, bigoted views. As I stick to the more friendlier forums I manage to avoid the worst of it. But I have found that mental illness is one subject guaranteed to cause "controversy" or produce, not necessarily discriminatory views, but views that still show a large degree of ignorance.

Sometimes these sort of comments on a forum can really upset some posters, turning the discussion into a flame-war. Other times these comments are ignored or the other posters fail to see the ignorance within the comment.

Personally, I'm never going to be reduced to flaming anyone. But at the same time I will speak up if someone has posted something I know not to be quite right.

I don't think subjects such as mental illness should be avoided as topics of discussion on internet forums. In fact, quite the opposite, discussing these subjects and enlightening those who don't know as much about this subject is a highly positive and healthy activity. However, flaming someone who doesn't agree with you (no matter how ignorant they are being) is not the way forward.

It's not right for mental illness to be a taboo subject. Discussion on mental health and the issues surrounding it are healthy. Just be prepared for a few small-minded people.

Comedy Sketch Encourages Stigma Towards Mental Illness?

Ofcom are investigating a complaint made by Rethink about a sketch on Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights programme on Channel Four. Rethink does not make a habit of criticising  comedy shows...

Back in December 2010, mental health charity Rethink lodged a complaint with Ofcom over a Frankie Boyle sketch shown on the Channel 4 show Tramadol Nights.

This has not been the only complaint made to Ofcom about Boyle's Channel 4 show, he is also under fire from AIDS and cancer charities over his television show.

The sketch parodies Time to Change's fake film trailer for a horror film called Schizo (which can be viewed in this previous blog post). The "Schizo trailer" ultimately shows someone with schizophrenia talking about their experiences while making tea in his kitchen.

In the Boyle sketch a man says he has mental health problems and comments on the stigma surrounding mental illness. The camera then pans down to show four children dead and covered in blood.

There was a time long gone when I used to laugh at Boyle's humor - now I feel all he is doing is trying to shock, which will inevitably encourage ignorance and stigma.

I have heard it argued that Boyle's humor is "done with irony" and "if you don't see that, you don't understand his humor". But, surely if others do not see the "ironic-humor", then there must be those who find Boyle humorous but see no irony and their laughs derive from prejudice and holding views of stigma towards mental illness!

The sketch could also be defended by calling it "satire". But I can use the same argument as above; too many are ignorant of subjects such as mental illness and will therefore fail to see the "satire", and will, mistakenly, see the sketch as "depicting the truth."

Unfortunately, the comedy sketch reinforces the myth that mental illness causes a sufferer to be violent; which of course is not true.

Mark Davies, Rethink's director of communications, in a letter to Ofcom said: "There is no causal link between mental illness and violence. In fact, people with mental illness are more likely to be the victims than  the perpetrators of violence.


"By inferring that people with mental illness are violent, the Frankie Boyle sketch was misleading. One in four people have a mental health problem at some point in their lives. This sketch caused offence to many people in this group."


Speaking as someone with a mental disorder, it worries me that laughs are being derived from the ignorance   in believing there is a causal link between violence and mental health problems. It worries me that Boyle's sketch could help to reinforce stigma towards mental illness.

What do you think?

The FYM 'Creative Bank'

The Free Your Mind Creative Bank was created with the intention of showcasing creativity - including art, poetry, videos, poetry, etc. - related to mental illness or FYM.

The Creative Bank will be constantly updated. And we more than welcome contributions; email us at freeyourmindcampaign@gmail.com.

The latest additions are:

New poem...

This doesn’t make any sense,
Why are they still shouting at me?
Their anger is unclear
And their motives seem strange

My vision is blurred
As I look through stormy eyes

There is no doubt I’ve done nothing wrong
And in my heart I know they’re afraid.

They want to make me feel ashamed
And deny our similarities
But right now I feel as if I’m gazing at their souls.
Whilst they continue to stare straight through me.

My skin is thicker than it looks
My pride is hard to infiltrate

My body and mind are tired
My fight and will remain strong

My defences are raised
As they declare war.

There is no doubt
That they will batter me to the ground.
But at the core I shall remain
Undefeated.

Art...

Visit the Creative Bank here.

Representation of Mental Illness on TV

Representation of mental illness on TV has never been the most sensitive, accurate or sympathetic. But have improvements been made?

Recently a study was published by Shift, the government initiative to tackle stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health issues in England, which found that, despite distinct improvements over recent years, prime time television drama continues to struggle to present an accurate picture of mental illness.

The report found that:

• 63% of references to mental health were flippant, unsympathetic, or showed a low opinion about the sufferer
• 45% of TV programmes shown at peak time with mental illness story-lines portrayed people with mental health problems as posing a threat to others
• 45% of programmes had sympathetic portrayals of mental illness, but these often portrayed the characters as tragic victims.

All too often characters in hit prime-time TV shows deliver flippant lines in reference to mental illness, including things like; "crackpot", "basket case", and "sad little psycho".

Eastender's was praised for it's
portrayal of mental illness
with character Stacey Slater

Admittedly, progress has been made in some television shows. BBC soap Eastenders was praised for its portrayal of bipolar disorder with the character of Stacey Slater. However, even in this case. the same character eventually committed murder.

The depiction of another character with bipolar disorder on Channel 4 drama Shameless was both accurate and sensitive - which it, deservedly, was highly praised for. (Although this programme still showed the same character attacking her partner.)

In both of the above cases, however, it could be argued that violence and mental illness were used together in order to create tragic drama.

Vincent and the Doctor

Of all the recent portrayals of mental illness on television I found Doctor Who's depiction of Vincent van Gogh, the famous painter whom suffered from depression and eventually committed suicide, to have been the most sensitive and sympathetic. Despite the tragic nature of the character's story, the show still presented a positive and uplifting view of mental illness.

Although significant improvements have been made to the representations of mental illness and mental health issues in recent years, there is still a lot of progress to be made.

Happy New Year from FYM

Well, here at Free Your Mind we hope you all had a good holiday!

The Free Your Mind campaign has lots of plans for the year ahead. We will be heavily concentrating on continuing to establish ourselves in the community of Croydon, as well as continuing to bring you updates on this blog.

Recently, we had a small article about Free Your Mind published in the festive edition of the Hear Us Croydon mental health user group's newsletter. Thank you to Hear Us for that.

Until 2011,

Happy New Year! 

Nicola Edwards of FYM

Will Compulsory Treatment Orders Encourage Stigma Towards Mental Illness?

The government is discussing the use of treatment orders to force community care patients to take their medication. A CTO will mean patients released from hospitals in England and Wales could be forced back if they do not take their medication.

The central reason for the changes in the Mental Health Act is for these changes to be an extension of the powers which already allow people whose mental illness makes them a threat to themselves or others to be detained and, if necessary, forcibly treated. In this way CTOs may contribute to the stigma towards mental health problems by reinforcing the belief that a person with a mental illness is a threat.

For someone to be put on a compulsory treatment order (CTO), an application has to be submitted to a Tribunal by a mental health officer. The Tribunal itself is made up of a panel of three people:

1. A lawyer;
2. A psychiatrist;
3. A person with other skills and experience, e.g. a nurse, social worker, or someone with personal experience of a mental disorder.

Critics of the compulsory treatment orders are dubious of the scheme's ethics, and are concerned because it has not been shown to work in other countries. Mental health charities say the powers are excessive, will not improve people's health and could be misused.

Simon Lawton Smith, of the Mental Health Foundation said: 

'This may help a small number of individuals... but taking away anyone's right to treatment is questionable.'

'No-one with a physical health problem is compelled to take their medication, even if not taking it might be life threatening.'

Treatment orders have also faced criticism under the claim that a large contributing factor to them being put in place is to save money on hospital beds. However, Professor Louis Appleby, the national clinical director for mental health, and the man driving the introduction of the new powers, said it was "completely untrue" to suggest they were motivated by potential financial savings.

Compulsory treatment orders have already been in effect in Scotland since October 2005.

Do you think these changes to the Mental Health Act have been thought through? Do you think they will help people and improve quality of life? Or, will it only contribute towards the stigma and discrimination?

Inspiring Mental Health Videos

I haven't blogged in a while due to a hectic schedule - my apologies.

This post will be slightly different from usual. Free Your Mind presents to you an offering of a couple of inspiring videos found on the internet about mental health issues.

Nicola E. of Free Your Mind

"On October 2nd 2010 a quarter of Barnsley Town Center froze for 3 minutes to raise awareness of mental health discrimination."

Below is Time to Change's 'Schizo Movie' advert.

Children and Mental Illness

I have been mentally ill for as long as I can remember, and that includes as a child. Approximately 10% of children and young people aged 5-15 years old have a mental health problem and a small percentage will have a severe mental illness.

If you are worried about your child's mental health,it is important to contact your GP. The following is a list of signs which may be displayed in a child or young person with a mental illness:

• Decline in performance at school
• They receive poor grades despite strong efforts
• They repeatedly refuse to go to school
• They regularly worry or feel stressed
• They suffer from persistent nightmares
• Hyperactivity and fidgeting
• Persistent disobedience and aggression
• Frequent temper tantrums
• Depression
• They get sad or irritable.

You must remember that everyday stresses can cause changes in a child's behaviour, and it is not only important to recognise such behavioural changes, but also to differentiate them from signs of a mental health disorder.

Medication affects young children differently from older children or adults because their brains are in a state of very rapid development. However, if left untreated, serious mental illnesses themselves can negatively impact on brain development. At the same time, even if a young child is diagnosed with a mental illness, it does not necessarily mean medications have to be used.

As a child I showed most, if not all, of the warning signs of a mental health problem. And it is not surprising when you consider the fact that 1 in 5 children have a mental illness (which is 1 in 4 in terms of adults). So if you feel your child may be mentally ill, contact your GP as soon as possible!

Time to Change is Making Headlines

Mental health campaign Time to Change, which is also aimed at battling stigma towards mental illness, has been very busy recently.

You may have heard about Erik and Time to Change's 'Don't Get Me Wrong' video in which Erik, who has been diagnosed with severe depression, conducts a social experiment to show how people can be prejudiced towards mental illness. And you may have even pledged to help end mental health discrimination after hearing about this social experiment, many people have, including myself. If you haven't already, please do so.

Time To Change (pledge)

Time to change also entered the spotlight when three media volunteers with schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder appeared in tabloid newspaper The Sun, whom are not know for sensitively reporting mental health problems.

And Time to Get Moving week saw supporters running hundreds of events across the country, ranging from Bollywood dancing to football tournaments, involving nearly 50,000 people.

Patients Need Quicker Access to Therapy

There is no doubt that therapy is essential in treating mental illnesses, but one in five people with mental health disorders do not get the therapy they need from doctors. The mental health charity Mind says that those waiting less than three months from assessment to treatment were almost five times more likely to report that it helped them get back to work than those waiting between one and two years.

I was assessed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in 2005, with still no kind of therapy or "talking treatments"; I am on the waiting list, but I'm finding the wait highly frustrating! And, what is even more frustrating is that I am by no means the only one.

With all the recent government spending cutbacks the mental health sector is heavily feeling the strain, and this is sure to make therapies even more scarce. Doctors will be forced to prescribe even more medication than the are already doing so. Quality of treatment will suffer.

Access for patients to therapy is very slow, available therapies will be even harder to get hold of, and patients will continue to be pawned off with drugs, leaving their mental health to suffer as a consequence. What can we do?