Mental illness in the media

People with mental disorders are, many times, not described accurately or realistically in the media. Movies, television and books often present people with mental illnesses as dangerous or unstable. News stories sometimes highlight mental illness to create a sensation in a news report, even if the mental illness is not relevant to the story. Advertisers use words like "crazy" to convey that their prices are unrealistically low and to suggest the consumer can take advantage of them.

Mental disorder

Mental illness is common. Statistics show that one in every five Canadians will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Mental illnesses account for a large percentage of hospital stays every year. Yet, in spite of the fact that every Canadian knows someone who has been, or will be, affected by mental illness, few people know very much about it.

It is human nature to fear what we don't understand. As such, mental illness is feared by many people and, unfortunately, still carries a stigma (a stigma is defined as a mark or sign of disgrace). Because of this stigma, many people hesitate to get help for a mental health problem for fear of being looked down upon. It is unfortunate that this happens because effective treatment exists for almost all mental illnesses. Worse, the stigma experienced by people with a mental illness can be more destructive than the illness itself.