Only one in four would trust a woman who had ever been in a mental hospital to babysit a child
Quote:
Negative public attitudes towards people who have poor mental health could take a generation to shift, an expert in the field warned on Wednesday, as an official survey showed some opinions had barely changed since the mid-1990s.
Findings from Attitudes to Mental Illness 2011, a survey carried out for the first time in England 17 years ago, suggested more people now viewed mental health as an illness like any other, but less favourable views on some issues still existed. For example, one in six people believe a main cause of mental illness is lack of self-discipline and willpower, about the same level as first reported in 1994.
Paul Farmer, chief executive of charity Mind, which is a partner in the Time to Change campaign aimed at changing public perceptions, said that though "some significant progress has been made around tackling stigma and discrimination … shifting people's perceptions of mental health is the task of a generation".
The survey report, published by the NHS Information Centre, revealed that of 1,741 adults interviewed in February and March 2011, 77% agreed that "mental illness is an illness like any other", compared with 71% in 1994.
Some 70% would be comfortable talking to their family and friends about their mental health, compared with 66% in 2009 (the first year this question was asked); while 43% would be uncomfortable talking to their employer about their mental health, compared with 50% in 2010 (the first year this question was asked).
Despite this reported increase in positive views, some people surveyed hold a less favourable view of people with mental health issues. Only one in four would trust a woman who had ever been in a mental hospital to babysit a child, and 17% thought having a mental health facility in a residential area downgraded the neighbourhood.
Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of charity Sane, said "fear and prejudice" remained despite some improvements. "Thousands of people have contacted us over the years and described in often agonising detail how the stigma they face daily is as bad, if not worse, than the mental health problems they suffer from.
"If we aspire to end the stigma surrounding mental illness, we must not rely simply on educational campaigns, but must also provide the care and treatment people need at times of crisis, in order to prevent the tragedies that so often colour the public's view."
Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: "This report paints a mixed picture of attitudes towards people with mental health issues, which may be of particular interest given the number of high-profile awareness campaigns and celebrity stories about this subject."
Whilst some areas have improved I'm surprised by some of the results... 1 in 6 believe lack of self discipline and willpower are the main causes of mental illness, only 1 in 4 would trust a woman who had previously been in a psychiatric unit to babysit their child, and 17% of people believe that having a mental health facility in their area downgrades the neighbourhood.
Last edited by Rhuben : 09-06-2011 at 05:02 PM.
Reason: Adding stuff
Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money.
They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with.
Some men just want to watch the world burn.
I wonder if this 1 in 4 are aware that 1 in 4 have a mental health problem and therefore one of them is being highly hypocritical.
You've misread the statistic 1 in 4 (25%) would be ok with a person diagnosed with mental health issues looking after their children, 3 in 4 (75%) said they would not be ok with it or were unsure.
That's why the statistic is shocking, because majority still think people who've been into hospital are unstable and unable to look after children.
I misread it at first too.
Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money.
They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with.
Some men just want to watch the world burn.
oh goody means ill never be asked to babysit, rocking.
sadly i think MH is going to take a very very long time to be accepted by society as a whole, its just one of those things thats harder to change, i mean look at peoples attitudes to other races.
^ I agree, I think it's unhelpful also that, for every mental health awareness article/programme that is on, there's twice as many that just increase stigma (not actual statistics!) - take Coronation Street's recent portrayal of John Stape, for example.
But I'm pretty sure they didn't ask everyone. Surveys are squiffy for all sorts of reasons. I also wonder if it varies according to area. In my area of London, having mental illness symptoms seems to provoke public ridicule and scorn. Rare are people who'll treat us as the human beings we are. But they do exist.
Well the 3 in 4 had better not find out what I do for a living.
Hmm I better start up the Daily Mail hysteria bandwagon
A nice alarmist headline followed by systemic factual inaccuracies ought to do it.
Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money.
They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with.
Some men just want to watch the world burn.
To be fair, I'd be more likely to hire someone who hadnt been in a mental hospital to look after my kids.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
Meh how can you expect everyday people to not have predudices, when proffesional organisations have them predudices also, and will instead of supporting people with mh problems, come in and wreck their families and take their children away. Its not just every day people that need educating, we need to start at the top. just my opinion.
Sometimes it is easier to hide where noone knows who you are.
To be fair I wouldn't let someone who had been in a psychiatric hospital look after my kids unless I knew the person and their circumstances well. I say this as someone who has been in a psych hospital, hah.
Same. Awful really, but it's true.
There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: 'This glass is half full'. And then there are those who say: 'This glass is half empty'.
The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: 'What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!
Shame no one asked the children. Children mostly have less concerns. We're all simply people.
Although I've never been in a psych hospital, I can be quite unwell at times. But still I'm safe to look after my flatmates' son. And he likes me, too. Just this afternoon he came in from school and the first thing he said was "Yay, Katie's in!"
I was a teacher for 12 years, and apart from the crowd control, was trustworthy. I have to say though that during my years of worst illness breakdown I totally should not have been teaching.
My Mum had post-natal depression, and long term [though untreated by then] depression throughout her working life. She was a primary school teacher her whole working life, from 20 into her late 60s, even doing supply once retired, only stopping after having a stroke. She was a highly respected and competent teacher. Although she did have a very good work face. The home face, enduring domestic violence and struggling to be properly responsive to her own child, was something else altogether.
I'd trust someone on the basis of their recent work record and composure during any interview process, not on their medical record.
I would give everyone the same chances and I would try not to be biased. If someone was in a psych ward I would give them the same chances as someone who wasn't.
You survived the abuse.
You're gonna survive the recovery.
Hmmm this is a big part of my life- not being trusted with child care responsibilities in my own family because of my MH issues. It colored my confidence and initially I didn't trust myself, so even when people were telling me I was doing a good job I couldn't let it sink in.
I've had a child snatched away from me and parent scream at me to not come any closer, but that will probably do more damage to the child than me. Public acknowledge the adult is wrong but expect me to tolerate the ignorance. But it really hurts.
Stats are stats- ignorance is still out there. Yeah and in my job when a client, parent goes on about crazy people don't belong in schools, running hospitals, I chuckle to myself and think: if you only knew.......
~Happy tomatoes together we will be~
You say toe- may- toe, I say toe- mah- toe:
Let's call the whole thing- red
“It’s time to lead the third revolution, which is not to say we want to be at the top of the world, but to say we want to change the world. Because the way the world has been designed by men is not working. It’s not working for women, it’s not working for men,
it’s not working for polar bears.” Arianna Huffington 2014
To be honest, it's the 'hidden' [undiagnosed, untreated] people who have mental illness that can be more problematic than those who seek treatment.
This, similarly its those who don't seek treatment and are unknown to doctors as having any problems who are more at risk of dying from suicide/eating disorders.
Its not a shock, but it is very sad that this view is so widespread. My sister worked as a nursery nurse at a local play school and was basically forced to leave. We can only assume it was her stay in hospital that made them act so differently towards her when she went back to work. They refused to up her hours back to her contract of employment despite her GP saying she was fit to work 3 days a week [this is actually illegal and classed as unlawful deduction of pay]. Then they made an informal meeting with her and suddenly on arrival told her that the meeting was going to be a disciplinary [totally illegal to give no notice]. Then they said she was doing things wrong and came up with 3 dates where she had been apparently spending too long with one child in particular. One of these dates was ironically when her assessor [for her college course] was there! And her assessment was apparently faultless!! They made her feel so uncomfortable and she ended up leaving. We don't know who was so anti mental health, but we think it was one of the governors.
1 in 4 (25%) would be ok with a person diagnosed with mental health issues looking after their children, 3 in 4 (75%) said they would not be ok with it or were unsure.
