How can we stop ignorant attitudes towards Anxiety disorders?

[stay_gold]

How can we prevent it?
If it was taught in science at schools where they talk about the brain will that help people understand it?

[frosty2901]

i think the only way people can truely understand it is if they experiance it

frosty x

but i do agree it would be a hell of a lot easier if people could understand it and not be so ignorant especially the medical profession

[BobbyDog]

I don't think we can prevent it, there are ignorant people in every walk of life, not just those on the other side of anxiety. People fear what they do not understand, so education will go a long way to reducing stigma etc.

[Col]

Frosty and Bobbydog have got it SPOT ON!!!!

I think there should me more done publicity wise regarding the perils of anxiety/panic and the effects leading ultimately to agrophobia and with it not only social loss but financial difficulties and relationship breakdowns.

Hay ho, don't ponder on it you need to have an ignorant attitude towards ignorance, if that makes sense! People who 'don't get' anxiety etc or make it difficult an mock sufferers, don't deserve the time of day.

:winks:

[Oatcake]

The default reaction to finding out someone has any sort of mental health problem is that they're going to be dangerous, or a total imbecile. Sensationalist headlines in the media definitely don't help the cause. We're just another brand of nut jobs :doh:

My colleagues at work are definitely ignorant of it. A few months ago, a colleague went into hospital for an operation, and everyone clubbed together and sent flowers. There was a message on our display board - "Remember to send Natasha a text, let her know we're thinking of her". This is the norm for anyone off sick. But nothing for me - no flowers, no texts, no phone calls. Leave the mad woman alone. Thanks, guys.

Are we our own problem though? I pick who I tell about my GAD very carefully. I don't want the "Awwww, how are you?" patronising reaction. Remember those adverts with "Dave"? That's possibly the only advert I remember where speaking about mental health is mentioned. The message was "It's okay to talk to people with mental health problems". Anyone else recall those adverts being on pre-watershed? I don't.
http://cached.imagescaler.hbpl.co.uk/resize/scaleWidth/460/?sURL=http://offlinehbpl.hbpl.co.uk/News/OMC/C1B1FD8D-CA41-7915-87560117336D984F.jpg

Unfortunately, I think Frosty is correct, and people don't get it how it feels until they experience it. It's not the same as "that time I had a real panic about a blood test" or something similar. It sits on your shoulders every single day, sometimes unrealised. As a primary school teacher, I'm pretty sure that you could introduce it in year 6. We put so much pressure on our young people that it's entirely possible they'd recognise the warning signs in themselves. The statistics speak for themselves, and like it or not, kids are going to meet someone with, or even become someone affected by mental health problems. It would need to be done sensibly and sympathetically, and in conjunction with some sort of campaign which isn't just stuck on after the watershed.

The ignorance is far more dangerous than any newspaper nutjob, afer all. It's just a more subtle form of destruction.

P.S. Apologies for length :blush:

[Steve37]

i think the only way people can truely understand it is if they experiance it

frosty x

but i do agree it would be a hell of a lot easier if people could understand it and not be so ignorant especially the medical profession

I agree, it's hard to fully explain to someone who hasn't had or got it.

[Rennie1989]

I am very careful with who I tell about my illness because I was severely bullied about it at school. Those I do tell more are NOT understanding, like they believe I am caught in the past, weak or making excuses to not do stuff. It annoys me when people think that mental illness can be cured with a slap around the face and told to 'get over it', because if it were that easy people like me wouldn't have suffered like this for 10 years.

If people can sympathise people diabetes, flu and chronic back pain then people CAN symathise those with mental illnesses. I am not asking people to understand the in's and out's or be experts, I just want people to be a little more polite and caring when I'm having a bad day.

[Kells81]

I personally can't stand the term 'mental illness/health'. It immediately brings up negative ideas towards what we have.
There are so many stories in the press at the moment concerning people with a history of 'mental illness' who are a danger to society. Most of us would come under the category of having a history of mental health issues as we have anxiety etc but I don't want to come under this umbrella.
I think anxiety disorders should be classed completely separately and not referred as 'mental' anything! I think this would be a start with better public understanding of what we suffer.

[Daisy Sue]

I've found the problem to have two sides to it... the fact that people don't know, or understand, what anxiety is and the extent to which it can affect us, and secondly (and more annoyingly) that it's seen as 'only anxiety' and that we can somehow pull ourselves together & get over it.

Actually, there's a third aspect now I think about it - being labelled by the GPs. I think once they know you have anxiety, some have a tendency to jump to that being at the root of all our medical issues that we go to them with... and that really winds me up, and depresses me.

[frosty2901]

I've found the problem to have two sides to it... the fact that people don't know, or understand, what anxiety is and the extent to which it can affect us, and secondly (and more annoyingly) that it's seen as 'only anxiety' and that we can somehow pull ourselves together & get over it.

Actually, there's a third aspect now I think about it - being labelled by the GPs. I think once they know you have anxiety, some have a tendency to jump to that being at the root of all our medical issues that we go to them with... and that really winds me up, and depresses me.

i totaly agree because you suffer from anxiety doesnt mean that you havent got something medicaly wrong with you but when the doctor says oh its only anxiety thats why your ear hurts etc
and the people that say oh just pull yourslef together grrrrrr
frosty x

[stay_gold]

That was really interested to read.

The thing is, before I had anxiety, I had no idea it was even a big deal that you could get physical pains and symptoms from. I didn't even know such feelings linked to anxiety or anything was related. I was a bit younger in my late teens but still, I had no clue. I was relieved that it was nothing worse but SO stunned that it was a massive problem.
I began to tell my friends who also had no idea and I knew on their face that they didn't take it serious. You link anxiety with just being a bit worried. They just left me in a rut.
Funny thing is yes, one of them a few months later confided in me about symptoms and I said it was probs anxiety. I had been pushed away by that friend so far(cos she thought i was being over dramatic) that not long after that we lost touch.

What I'm getting at is that none of us even know, anxiety disorders were such a problem. Yeah, we heard about panic attacks and stuff but had no idea what they actually were.

[Serenitie]

I personally can't stand the term 'mental illness/health'. It immediately brings up negative ideas towards what we have.
There are so many stories in the press at the moment concerning people with a history of 'mental illness' who are a danger to society. Most of us would come under the category of having a history of mental health issues as we have anxiety etc but I don't want to come under this umbrella.
I think anxiety disorders should be classed completely separately and not referred as 'mental' anything! I think this would be a start with better public understanding of what we suffer.

I prefer the term mental distress as I think it is a more accurate description of my personal experience.

I believe educating people goes some way to increasing awareness and understanding. But society and the sense of community is very fractured currently and this makes people very self interested and absorbed and less willing to show concern to others.

I don't believe that personal experience is essential to understanding or empathising with other humans in pain or distress. Acceptance and support of others should not require first hand experience.

In terms of persistent ignorance and unwillingness to accept others for who they are, I think that this quote sums up my opinion.

"Those who matter don't mind. Those who mind don't matter"

:)

[Jaco45er]

It's taboo for sure in the minds of a lot of people. But when 1 in 4 will experience a mental health issue, you will be surprised that how many around you can relate to how you feel.

There is a lot of media lately promoting mental Heath in a good light (I don't mean promoting you should get it ;)), but slowly I think it's being more understood in the public domain.

[Rennie1989]

I personally can't stand the term 'mental illness/health'. It immediately brings up negative ideas towards what we have.
There are so many stories in the press at the moment concerning people with a history of 'mental illness' who are a danger to society. Most of us would come under the category of having a history of mental health issues as we have anxiety etc but I don't want to come under this umbrella.
I think anxiety disorders should be classed completely separately and not referred as 'mental' anything! I think this would be a start with better public understanding of what we suffer.

Although I agree with where you are coming from the term 'mental illness' is exactly the same concept as 'physical illness'. Like you said, the media have not helped the situation by labelling people with a mental illness as a danger to society, when only a small percentage actually are. With more awareness by the government and mental health charities about recognising depression, OCD, anxiety and other conditions for what they actually are, not the stereotypes, it is encouraging more people to open up about their experiences (whether they have a condition or know someone close who does) or those not affect to understand that it is an actual illness instead of a weakness. Hopefully in years to come 'mental illness' won't be seen as a dirty word or taboo but recognised as a medical condition. Of course, each people have their own opinions with the title but I believe there is nothing wrong with the term.

[JaneC]

I encourage my daughter to be open about having epilepsy, in part because you'd never know by looking at her that she has it. She is a beautiful, lively normal teenager, not some kind of freak as some might imagine, so if one good thing can come from her having E, helping to break down stereotypes isn't a bad one. I think the same goes for mental health. Those who are confident enough and happy to be open about it can do a lot to break down misconceptions. I'm not saying I shout it from the rooftops, and there are some people I'd never speak to about it, but I don't really keep it a secret and think I do a fairly good job, for the most part, of looking like someone you wouldn't expect to have issues. I think Ive made a few people think!