How often do you come across an article online about a violent crime and read that the person who committed the crime had a mental illness? You know better than to click on the comments, but you do anyways and read things like “Mentally ill people are a danger to everyone, they should be locked away forever!” or “Of course, they are using the excuse that they are mentally ill to justify their actions.” It’s frustrating, to see the stigma that is still attached to mental illness these days.
In the early years, when a person was deemed “insane,” “a lunatic,” “disturbed,” or a woman was considered “hysterical,” they were locked away in a state hospital or an insane asylum. This started in 1791, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Throughout the years, people in these facilities were subjected to cruel and unjust treatment. In 1887, Nellie Bly went undercover in one of these facilities and brought to light the atrocious conditions these folks were living in. This prompted the start of changes in these facilities, but it was not enough. Up until the 1950s, people living in asylums were still being treated poorly, including receiving forced sterilization, unmedicated electroshock therapy and lobotomies. Unfortunately, there are people who still believe this should continue to happen. More so, with people on the internet who feel safe behind their computer screen.
Through the last few years, I’ve learned to not argue with these people, instead I educate. I share links from NAMI and NIMH. I stick with facts. My favorite fact to share is that 1 in 5 adults are living with a mental illness. Whether they believe me or not, I feel I have done my due diligence to educate and combat the negative stigma associated with mental illness, and if that it all I can do, I feel accomplished.