Blaming mental illness for the current wave of violence in the world is at best laziness and opportunism and at worst totally unhelpful, because much of the information provided by the media is incorrect and does nothing more than perpetuate the stigma associated with persons with mental illness. Making the simple association between violence and mental illness is untrue, unfair and is a fallacious justification for the segregation of persons with mental illness. We must do something about this.
I am personally saddened by the suffering associated with the recent spate of violent incidents being reported daily, and I am sure that many of you feel the same. However, one cannot but notice that many commentators blame much of the current wave of violence on mental illness. This misattribution is not new, and if we remain silent it will continue.
We as individuals must take responsibility for educating society and the media about this. Violence associated with mental illness is sensationalist and sells news. As the use of social mass media grows, it provides us with a method to get together to correct misinformation.
“Making the simple association between violence and mental illness is untrue, unfair and is a fallacious justification for the segregation of persons with mental illness.”
Even though many people know that mental illness is not the cause of all the violence being perpetuated in the world, the perception is that there is a link. This has a damaging effect on those who have experienced mental illness, resulting in shame and a wish to hide. Mental illness is not synonymous with being dangerous.
What Do We Know?
- The vast majority of people who are violent do not suffer from mental illness.
- People with a mental health problem are 10 times more likely to be the victim of violence than the general population.
- Most people with appropriately treated, stable mental illness do not present increased risk to others.
- A small minority of people with a mental illness have an increased risk of violence to others, about 4 percent, but the factors leading to this increased risk are the same as those affecting violent people who do not have a mental illness.
- It is a myth that the law is lenient on people with a mental illness, because the use of insanity as a defense in court is only successful in 2 percent of cases.
- Mental illness is very common in the jail and prison population worldwide, mostly because there are no hospital beds available. This is a stain on society because these individuals should be receiving appropriate psychiatric treatment.
- Negative public attitudes to mental illness are common in the U.S. A 2013 U.S. survey of public opinion on gun policy and mental illness found that 46 percent of people believed a person with serious mental illness was far more dangerous than the general population.
Taking Action
First of all, we need to work on reducing the stigma associated with seeking help for mental illness so that people are not ashamed or afraid to seek the treatment they need when they first recognize a problem. This means that access to health has to be universal whether rich or poor, insured or uninsured, and family doctors and general practitioners must play their role in making sure this happens.
Anyone in a mental health crisis should have access to help, and this year’s World Mental Health Day “Dignity In Mental Health: Psychological and Mental Health First Aid for All” calls on all of us to learn the skills to be psychological and mental health first-aiders (http://wfmh.com/). Teaching mental health as well as physical health first aid will also enable better access to health. Imagine how many more people we could reach if we could make the first aid posts in our public spaces mental health friendly by using the Stigma Shelter symbol (http://worlddignityproject.com/) so that people would be less afraid to ask for assistance in a mental health crisis and others would be less afraid to provide them with help.
Governments need to invest in mental health. It is empty rhetoric to declare “no health without mental health” when there is, year after year, reduction in mental health and social care. Governments need to engage more closely with their populations so that everybody is able to feel a sense of belonging and participation so we are all feel part of a community.
“Governments need to invest in mental health. It is empty rhetoric to declare "no health without mental health" when there is, year after year, reduction in mental health and social care.”
Journalists have a very important role to play in tackling the stigma and discrimination associated with misinformation, and they have the responsibility to accurately report about violence and mental health issues. They need to avoid sensationalism and provide the facts in the interest of balanced reporting. Now that we all have access to mass media in a variety of ways such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and personal and institutional websites, we can take positive action by challenging irresponsible reporting using our own means. I am confident that together we can shift public opinion so that it is increasingly based on facts rather than myths.
The origin of violence is complex and lies in poverty, exposure to family violence in childhood, social marginalization, poor education, unemployment, poor housing conditions in dangerous neighborhoods and alcohol and illicit drug use. Gun crime and all other types of violence should not be blamed on mental illness.
References:
Barry CL, McGinty EE, Vernick JS, Webster DW. After Newtown – Public opinion on gun policy and mental illness. New England Journal of Medicine 2013; 368:1077-81
Khalifeh H, Moran P, Borschmann R, Dean K, Hart C, Hogg J, Osborn D, Johnson S, Howard LM. Domestic and sexual violence against patients with severe mental illness. Psychological Medicine 2014.doi: 10.1017/S0033291714001962
Swanson JW. Mental disorder, substance abuse, and community violence: an epidemiological approach. In: Monahan J, Steadman H, editors. Violence and mental disorder. Chicago: University of Chicago press: 1994 pp.101-36
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Professor Gabriel Ivbijaro MBE, JP
MBBS, FRCGP, FWACPsych, MMedSci, MA, IDFAPA
President WFMH (World Federation for Mental Health)
Chair The World Dignity Project
Medical Director
The Wood Street Medical Centre│6 Linford Road│ Walthamstow │London E17 3LA │UK
Tel: 020 8430 7715│Mobile: 07973 175955
Twitter@IvbijaroGabriel
