Stigma and Mental Illness

Just this past week I took a short trip to Traverse City, Michigan. Traverse Ciry is a beautiful city. At one time Traverse City had a Asylum for the Insane which was established in 1885. Dr James Munson, the first superintendent of the hospital was a firm believer in treating the patients with kindness, comfort, pleasure and the beauty that surrounded the hospital. With the increase in success in drug therapies, many mentally ill patients improved. In 1989, the hospital closed because of lack of funds and many of the patients were released were homeless.

Today our society continues to face stigma. Stigma is a negative attitude. People who are labelled mentally ill are just as human as everyone else.We need to be more sensitive and caring. We need to change hearts, minds and attitudes about mental illness. We need to set standards for quality education about mental illness. Focusing on recovery and hope is important. Increase funding for services is a critical issue and we need to raise awareness about mental illness and hopefully to make changes in policies that currently exist.

http://Traverse City, Michigan and http://stigma and mental illness