Growing up in a developing and constantly changing society has opened the doors to different stereotypes and stigmas. Some of those are vocalized, while others, such as the “connection” of violence to mental illnesses has never been brought up.
The connection between mental illnesses and violence is complex, and the stigma surrounding mental illnesses and violence can lead to the perception that people with those illnesses are more violent. However, there are a countless number of environmental factors, such as child trauma, that can result in violent tendencies. The major factors of violence are socio-demographic and socio-economic, such as being young, male and of lower socio-economic status; having a mental disorder is not on that list. In reality, those with mental illnesses are more likely to be the victims rather than the perpetrators.
The stigma created by society has made it an automatic association. When someone looks at the news and sees a report of an attack, there are often times where the first thought is what mental illness they had or the headline of a news story is “Mentally ill man attacks….” The headline leads people to assume that when someone makes such a decision, it has to be because they are mentally ill. However, that’s the furthest from the truth. Those with mental illnesses are more likely to harm themselves rather than others, but with the right, effective treatment, any kind of violence can be taken out of the picture.
Around 20% of children, ages 3-17 years old, in the U.S. have a mental, behavioral, emotional or developmental disorder. If even 5% of students in a graduating class at our school were to have either a mental, behavioral, emotional or developmental disorder, at least one person in almost every class (one out of 20) would have some type of disorder. But that does not mean that a student is automatically affiliated with violence.
When brought down to a closer level, the stigma is harder to imagine because it’s hard to picture someone close to you as a violent person. Everyone is so quick to assume or judge people in the media that they don’t know; however, they are still people who someone cares about. Those people are still humans battling an illness that they may not know how to control.
Seeking help for mental illnesses is crucial to developing coping methods, as well as understanding an illness in its entirety. Getting rid of the stigma starts with helping others get the care they need.
eyesh • Sep 3, 2024 at 2:29 PM
So good!! I can’t wait for more stories from this blog!!
Natasha C Rivas • Sep 2, 2024 at 7:21 PM
Absolutely true!!! If everyone in the world would just wake up and do research before making an uneducated opinion this world and humanity would be a better place and a way better people(person).
Would love to hear more topics from you.
Thank you !
Sincerely,
Natasha Rivas
Harold A Maio • Aug 31, 2024 at 7:04 AM
—Getting rid of the stigma starts with helping others get the care they need.
You have been taught there is a stigma to mental illnesses. May you find a way to overcome that lesson.
Harold A Maio