tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post5996147482633670589..comments2023-05-13T19:27:32.385+01:00Comments on Mind Walking - A journal of discovery: Instances of stigmaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-59478669911521604292012-05-29T22:32:41.185+01:002012-05-29T22:32:41.185+01:00Phew, Nikky is still with us... just checked her b...Phew, Nikky is still with us... just checked her blogsite and there is the most beautiful poem on there at the moment. <br /><br />http://nikkysstrengthandweakness-nikky44.blogspot.co.ukWilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-3291956385706586962012-05-26T03:53:21.404+01:002012-05-26T03:53:21.404+01:00I think there is certainly a controlling 'gasl...I think there is certainly a controlling 'gaslighting' element (see my previous article) to those who are prejudiced in any way. Mostly I believe it comes from a desire from those individuals to feel superior - why is that desire present though? I think too stigmatisation and prejudice stem from a fear of the unknown, things which are outside people's comfort zone. <br /><br />Just as we use dark humour to cope with death, so people find dark humour and insults useful when dealing with the mentally ill, all other disabilities, different religions and ethnicities, genders and anything outside what each individual is familiar with. It's become socially acceptable to do so too, but that doesn't make it right. Sometimes people do this to preserve their own health as when any of us are swamped with troubles it can simply be too much to be considerate of others. <br /><br />There's a huge difference though between the odd word or comment used as a release value to stress and tension and a deep rooted belief that others are not worthy of respect or consideration at all.<br /><br />What often saddens me most, here at the beginning of the 21st century is that the world charges ahead at such a rate it seems that sorting out ethical behaviour can end up as an afterthought instead of being at the forefront of everything we say and do. Resolve that first and we stand a chance of global peace and harmony. Dialogue is paramount, vital and crucial in all things.Wilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-63810339149411619052012-05-25T19:37:15.629+01:002012-05-25T19:37:15.629+01:00The downgrade in intellect does happen but it'...The downgrade in intellect does happen but it's more of a reflection on the "stigmatiser" than the stigmatised. <br /><br />I have to say that I have had more positive experiences than bad ones. I think positive outcomes when talking about mental illness are only really likely when you are not internally stigmatised. All too often when people talk about mental illness it is apologetic even if they don't realise or acknowledge it themselves. That can actually fuel stigma rather than the desired effect of combating it. <br /><br />I came across an interesting study recently done in Istanbul that seems to point to the fact that people with narcissistic personalities are most likely to stigmatise those with mental illness. <br /><br />http://www.researchgate.net/publication/7162321_A_stigmatizating_attitude_towards_psychiatric_illnesses_is_associated_with_narcissistic_personality_traits<br /><br />Many would say that I would be justified in applying this label negatively to those who have stigmatised me. We've all felt the pain of stigma and what would be wrong with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth approach? Many would say nothing and part of me agrees but how can I expect people to understand something as complex as bipolar to the uninitiated when I can't take the time to understand what drives them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-24580130729777004262012-05-25T18:48:34.302+01:002012-05-25T18:48:34.302+01:00And yes, the down grade in the perception of your ...And yes, the down grade in the perception of your intellect is sadly all too common, but it's not exclusively in the realms of mental illness. I've met deaf people, wheelchair users, blind people and people who are just the opposite gender, a different age, a even people from a different ethnicity can and often are subjected to the same. And that's why I've chosen 'I Know Someone Like That' as my personal recommendation for the Time to Change campaign.Wilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-65809679837421638772012-05-25T17:01:33.823+01:002012-05-25T17:01:33.823+01:00Hmmm, Anonymous's comment really has got me th...Hmmm, Anonymous's comment really has got me thinking... mainly that not only are all things dependent on what we encounter but that we often regard people as 'amazing' when we think we couldn't cope in their situation. I certainly feel that a lot. Compared to some, I have had a rotten time of it, compared to others I am conscious I have been extremely lucky. <br /><br />All things are relative. To loose my sight or the use of my limbs in some ways would be harder than to loose my mind again through mental illness. The worst moments for me came when I realised I was ill, not when I didn't. And that highlights just how bad the stigma is, as many end up feeling they can not engage with the world again if they have been mentally ill. Not true. You just end up becoming selective about which bits of it you choose to engage with. At least, that's what I've done.Wilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-32615563603161905822012-05-25T16:29:53.581+01:002012-05-25T16:29:53.581+01:00All cool, and I completely agree about learning th...All cool, and I completely agree about learning through dialogue and mistakes. I don't want to meet the perfect person unless of course I was looking for a cure for insomnia. <br /><br />I am openly bipolar and there are times when my condition might be obvious to some. However loads of people have been amazed when I have told them and say they would have never known. It is fascinating how people react once they know, it is normally positive but there will always be people that downgrade your intellect as a result.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-17825611066507879172012-05-25T14:38:19.464+01:002012-05-25T14:38:19.464+01:00Just need to tweak 'ever' to 'never in...Just need to tweak 'ever' to 'never in that paragraph now! So thank you for that too.Wilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-59878320765025491292012-05-25T14:36:15.247+01:002012-05-25T14:36:15.247+01:00Hi Anonymous, and thank you!
It's precisely b...Hi Anonymous, and thank you!<br /><br />It's precisely because I realised that I had been prejudiced myself that I included it even though I have been ill myself. It wasn't until I became ill and met such people that I began to twig how determined and 'normal' the mentally ill really are. <br /><br />We all want to be acknowledged for what we can do and not dismissed, ignored and shunned because of our any illness we happen to have. <br /><br />I hope that helps explain... Method in my 'madness'. I do and will write in a way to try to provoke logical and sensible thoughts and dialogue on the subject of mental illness. <br /><br />Even among the mentally ill, sadly false assumptions are sometimes made.<br /><br />Thrilled you commented as I own I am not perfect, don't have all the answers and am only too willing to learn. We learn best through dialogue, and never through evading sensitive issues.Wilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-43365068053077552002012-05-25T12:25:06.175+01:002012-05-25T12:25:06.175+01:00I was amazed to find this paragraph in this contex...I was amazed to find this paragraph in this context:<br /><br />Even people with long standing and permanent conditions such as Bipolar and Schizophrenia often enjoy months of better health and (what I personally find amazing), they often learn to function with the condition just as diabetics do, so much so that no one would ever suspect they had any health problem at all if they don't mention it. <br /><br />I can't believe how prejudiced it sounds. What is so amazing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-37508981166725623492012-05-18T21:52:25.084+01:002012-05-18T21:52:25.084+01:00Just been reading this blogsite...
http://nikkysst...Just been reading this blogsite...<br />http://nikkysstrengthandweakness-nikky44.blogspot.co.uk<br /><br />I'm not sure if Nikky is in the UK or not, regardless I have added additional links for anyone who is a victim of violence of any sort. <br /><br />I hope all my readers will join me in my thoughts for her and her children's safety.Wilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-19468640339205968222012-05-17T15:05:19.272+01:002012-05-17T15:05:19.272+01:00Just breezed by to add, I have since also had exce...Just breezed by to add, I have since also had excellent support from the Job Centre when unemployed. So what does that tell us? That there's a need for consistency in standards is all.<br /><br />No one minds too much if mistakes are rectified quickly do they?Wilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097508701235517631.post-67585554931042524992012-05-16T20:13:47.287+01:002012-05-16T20:13:47.287+01:00Just to add those two incidents of unpleasant run ...Just to add those two incidents of unpleasant run ins with HR and Occupational Departments indicate to me that recruitment, HR and Occupational Health training either isn't sufficiently good in training or that it isn't sufficiently monitored. Of course the employers, companies, organisations and businesses could be responsible, but actually in these particular cases I prefer to think not because of what they did for their customers and clients.<br /><br />To be perfectly blunt I would prefer never to work than be subjected to such treatment again, which would be a shame given my talents, skills, abilities, ethics and overall contributions. However as I said I have since had experience the opposite extreme of total excellence. So whenever I am unemployed my policy is to be selective to find another excellent one.<br /><br />This can only be done though, once you have as much belief and confidence in yourself as I have. Not arrogance, just sheer self-esteem.Wilde Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515933372911889433noreply@blogger.com