Combating the mental illness stigma

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI)- One in four people will suffer from mental illness at some point in their life, according to the World Health Organization.

But for something so common, it often comes with a negative perception.

“People all around us have mental illness; it’s just one of those subjects that nobody wants to talk about unless there is some type of bad situation that happens,” said Richard Duggin.

Community Counseling Services is working to change the conversation.

“What we try to do is teach people in those programs how to deal with those stigmas. And us also trying to advocate for them and their rights because they have rights like everyone else has rights,” said Duggin.

That stigma often comes into conflict with those rights.

“When somebody is trying to rent from an apartment complex or going out to get a job there, their mental illness sometimes impacts their ability to do that. And it shouldn’t. We work with people, we have people that we employ that have mental illness, and they’re some of the most reliable, dependable, hard worker’s. They value that job just like all of us value our jobs,” said Karen Frye.

Frye said one way to change the social perception is to look at mental health the same way you look at physical health.

“We would never think about somebody with diabetes just keeping them in the hospital for months on end, you know, we are going to work with their providers to get them the medication they need. We are going to work with their families, to educate them about the things they do in their home environment. And the same thing applies to the individuals we work with,” said Frye.

Changes will soon be underway for the Mississippi Mental Health System after a Federal Judge said the state violated civil rights laws by not providing mental health patients enough care in their communities.

Categories: Local News

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