Writer Choice
38784Influencing Social Change
Introduction
Stigma lowers the self-esteem levels in individuals living with mental illnesses and robs them of social opportunities. When people become unwilling to associate with individuals living with mental illness, they form social distancing (Bui, 2012). Stigma from the public may lead to internalized discrimination where these individuals living with mental health problems adopt the stereotypic attitudes towards themselves. They begin to assume that they will always be rejected socially and as such, they avoid interacting with people, shy off from job opportunities and form a mentality that they are not valued. Since stigmatization leads to social withdrawal, isolation, and low self-confidence, there is the need to adopt strategies that advocate for a change in how society perceives and treats individuals living with mental illnesses.
Influencing Change as a Nurse Practitioner
Mental illnesses do not only affect the individuals but also some of the closest people in their lives especially those who are their primary caregivers (Dingfelder, 2009). As such, their primary caregivers also face the challenge of stigmatization and discrimination in addition to financial constraints as they spend their money and time caring for their kins who live with mental problems. Therefore, as a nurse practitioner, the first step towards making an impact for them primarily by lightening their burden is educating them about the facts of the illness. It is essential for close family members to understand how they can care for their patients, best treatment alternatives and even access to specialists who can readily support them. When individuals are well equipped with relevant knowledge, they will not feel overwhelmed by the challenges brought by the illness (Jenkins, 2012).
Creating personal relationships with my clients and their families is also another strategy which I will use to impact their lives (Bennett, 2015). As I interact with the patients, I will ensure that I share some of the experiences I have had with other clients in the past and how they have lived successfully with their conditions. I will also challenge them to strive and live normal lives such as engaging in business, investing in education and even starting up families of their own. I believe that when my clients listen to the success stories of other patients, they will be inspired to make the best out of their lives. I will also try my best to show them that they can overcome stigmatization and other challenges brought by the mental illnesses by ensuring am not part of the people who label and judge them as incapacitated.
Advocacy for Change in my Community
Stigmatization and discrimination of individuals living with mental illnesses is highly linked to limited knowledge (Bennett, 2015). Most of the people in the society do not understand the facts about mental diseases and they perceive that people with mental conditions are lazy, violent and even hard to live with. In school, individuals with mental illnesses are thought to be the poor performers without understanding that they face challenges concentrating in class and even recalling what they are taught. As such, campaigns to educate the society on the different mental conditions and how they affect the lives of individuals is one of the strategies that I will use to advocate for a social change in my community. When individuals are educated about the mental conditions, they are likely to change their attitudes towards these individuals and even seek for means on how to support them through their treatment journey. The campaigns will also focus on ensuring that individuals understand that mental conditions occur by chance and as such, they will learn how to become tolerant towards these people.
Research has proved that society has the most negative attitudes towards individuals living with mental illnesses, especially if they are addicted to drugs and alcohol (Angermeyer, Matschinger, & Schomerus, 2013). Individuals who are mentally challenged and addicted to substances often get physical and verbal attacks even from strangers are often barred from shops as they are thought to be violent and are even discriminated against by their close neighbors and family members (Price, 2014). To influence social change, the first step is to help the individuals who are addicted to substances and offer them counseling and rehabilitation services which can assist them to quit the use of drugs and alcohol. Educational programs for communities are one of the ways that I will use to advocate for social change.
Adopting educational programs that help people in the society understand how mental conditions affect individuals in terms of decision-making ability and self-confidence levels will help them learn how to live with them. Moreover, the educational programs will help the society understand that individuals with mental challenges may perceive the use of drugs as a temporary relief for the suffering brought by the condition. Therefore, the community will assume its role in helping individuals with mental conditions lead healthy lives and helping them quit substance use. The education programs will also empower the community on ways which they can support individuals with mental illnesses and as a result, this will lead to a decline in the rate of substance addiction for people with mental conditions.
Conclusion
It is essential to understand that discrimination and stigmatization can worsen the mental health problems of individuals or even delay them from accessing treatment and hence their recovery. Therefore, the society must ensure that it does not trap individuals living with mental conditions in a cycle of illness. The community should support their wellbeing by striving to be a part of the recovery of the patients.
References
Angermeyer, M., Matschinger, H., & Schomerus, G. (2013). Attitudes towards psychiatric treatment and people with mental illness: Changes over two decades. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 203(2), 146-151. Retrieved from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/203/2/146.full
Bennett, T. (2015, April 16). Changing the way society understands mental health. Retrieved from National Alliance on Mental Illness: http://www.nami.org/Blogs/Nami-Blog-April-2015/Changing-the-Way-Society-Understands-Mental-Health
Bui, Q. (2012). Antidepressants for agitation and psychosis in patients with dementia. American Family Physician, 85(1), 20-22. Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/journals/afp.html
Dingfelder, S. (2009). Stigma: Alive and well. Monitor on Psychology, 40(6), 56. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/06/stigma.aspx
Jenkins, J. (2012). The anthropology of psychopharmacology: Commentary on contributions of the analysis of pharmaceutical self and imaginary. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 36(1), 78-79.
Price, L. (2014). Violence in America: Is psychopharmacology the answer? Brown University Psychopharmacology, 25(8), 5. Retrieved from http://onlinlibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1556-7532
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