DBSA Tennessee Past President, S.L. Brannon
share
  • Home
  • About
  • FIRST BOOK: Two Agreements
  • My new book: A Brand New Day
  • Advocacy
    • Letters to our Governor
    • Advocacy Action Items for DBSA Tennessee
    • Submitted Relative Articles
  • Network Resources
  • Additional Events
  • I\\\'ve been there
  • Forums
  • Contacts

A Brand New Day
My Story of Success and Sanity

I'm in the process of writing my new book - and pretty dog-gone excited about it! Today, I'm inviting you to follow along as I blog about how it's going with the writing, as well as, share bits of my text. So, I ask you to participate by sharing your comments and suggestions. (Also, any words of encouragement received from fellow writers are most welcome.)

Writing my story of moving past paralyzing pain to find happiness welcoming me home again

10/18/2015

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

Let me tell you about how I am misrepresented in the media

10/6/2015

0 Comments

 
I am writing in my new book of my introduction to stigma after being diagnosed with depression. Folk dealing with something as simple as situational depression can be met with stigma.
 
Stigma hurts! Unless you are a member of one of the less fortunate groups in our society you probably know very little about stigma. People of color, ex offenders, and the poverty-stricken know, all too well, the sting of stigma. U. S. News reported on another group that knows very well the pain caused by stigma, the mentally ill.
 
Do you live with mental illness? Do you have a family member or loved one living with mental illness? If you answer no to these two questions, then, you may have a faulty impression about those living with mental illness and mental illness itself. Most people learn what they know, think they know, I about the mental health challenges of others through media. And that is definitely a faulty source of information about a very serious human issue. Individuals living with mental illness need the most informed support from the community that is possible. Otherwise, their hope for being a fully contributing member of society is severely hampered. Let me share some information about the depiction of individuals living with mental health challenges as portrayed by the media. This depiction feeds the branding aspect of stigma toward the mentally ill.
 
Studies indicate that mass media is one of the public’s primary sources of information about illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar, and depression.  However, research also suggests that media portrayals of mental illness are negative or inaccurate.  According to Dr. Otto Wahl from Connecticut’s University of Hartford, recent studies show that media depictions of mental illness are outdated and harmful.  Here are a couple of the common, inaccurate and misleading media stereotypes:
People with mental illnesses are criminal or violent.  Studies show that individuals with mental illness are less likely to commit violent crimes and are actually more likely to be victimized. However, many news sources sensationalize incidents where innocent people are killed by a mentally ill individual.  According to Don Diefenbach, the chair of mass communications at University of North Carolina, Asheville, fictional media also portrays mental illness in skewed ways.  After he analyzed portrayals of psychological disorders on prime time television, he found that characters that had a mental illness were 10 to 20 times more likely to commit a violent crime than someone with a mental illness would be in real life.
 
People with mental illness look different than others.  Often TV shows or movies will depict the mentally ill as having disheveled hair, rumpled clothes, or wild eyes. This is stereotypical.  The fact is that many people with mental illness shower every day and go to work just like everyone else.  These portrayals often don’t convey that most people with serious mental illnesses are in pain and struggling.
It is well known that education of the public about mental illness is the best tool for stopping stigma. Sadly, the fact remains that there is little, to no, resources directed to engaging the public in any substantive learning experience how about mental illness and the millions living with this health challenge. Until this changes, we can expect more of the same treatment of the mentally ill by society. 

​If nothing changes, then, nothing changes.
 
(Source: U.S. News,  How Mental Illness is Misrepresented in the Media)
 
www.bringchange2mind.org

0 Comments

    Author

    S.L. Brannon, B.A., M.Ed., D.Div. You can learn more about me (Steve Brannon) on facebook and linkedin.


    My new book is about overcoming life's challenges. As a teen, I learned what it felt like to be judged as less-than because of my family's religion. Later in life I learned what it felt like to experience the sting of stigma, the type that people with mental illness experience every day, after I experienced depression following major surgery. Little did I know that the knowledge and practical skills I gained in my early years, by overcoming the oppressive, discriminating attitudes and actions of others, would lead me to a successful and healthy life as an adult. They made it possible for me to push back against the crushing stigma of others and erase the internalized stigma I possessed - and win!


    I know what it takes to make it through major challenges that come without warning. I am including in my book the practical practices I used to surmount my challenges to create a fulfilling and successful life. It is my pleasure to share them.  

    Archives

    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    A Brand New Day
    Affirmation
    Cure
    Denials
    Dreams
    Empathy
    Encourage
    Encouragement
    Gratitude
    Inner Peace
    Intimate Relationships
    Invisible Afflictions
    Life Purpose
    Meditation
    New Book
    No Regrets
    Optimism
    Overcoming
    Overcoming Challenges Gives Meaning
    Personal Story
    Positive
    Prosperity
    Spiritual But Not Religious
    Spiritual Writer
    Story
    Strength
    Support
    Trust

    RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly