Stigma of mental illness a 'barrier' to recovery

About 130 million people in Europe experience mental health illness at some stage in their lives and 83 per cent of them have identified stigma as one of the main barriers to their recovery, according to the European Federation of Associations of Families of Mentally Ill People (EUFAMI).

Moreover, 47 per cent of these have been harassed in public, research shows.

The Mental Health Association, on the occasion of World Mental Health Day on Sunday, is launching an anti-stigma awareness campaign, Zerostigma, in conjunction with the rest of Europe through EUFAMI.

"Zero stigma, zero ignorance and zero excuse is the call of family members, coming together throughout Europe to fight the lack of awareness and fear that creates discrimination against those with mental illness and their carers," association chairman Connie Magro said.

The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness on mental health, eradicate the stigma surrounding it and empower families, the public and the media, which tends to report only the more negative and shocking aspects of mental illness, Ms Magro said.

The stigma problem has improved, she maintained, recalling the days when families would only bring their sick relatives to Mount Carmel Hospital at night so as not to be seen.

Today, most admissions to the hospital are informal in that people turn up on their own and voluntarily, meaning that part of the stigma has been eradicated.

However, on the issue of employment, usually the mentally ill only land the menial jobs, Ms Magro highlighted, laying stress on the negative repercussions of the taboo that still exists around mental illness.

"If jobs are created for the mentally ill, they would also be less of a burden on society. The problem is that they often do not report their illness, not even to a psychiatrist. They just go on sick leave and lose their jobs," Ms Magro said, stressing on the need for more openness.

Moreover, people who suffer from mental illness are often isolated. Normally, they are only visited by their immediate families in hospital and not their friends, who do not know how to deal with it and start dropping them.

Even close relatives can feel isolated and do not even communicate with their extended families on the subject. Some are fearful they would be blamed for the illness, Ms Magro said.

The awareness campaign is focusing on the fact that the "families are not to blame and that mental illness is an illness like any other, such as diabetes, for example".

Through the campaign, the idea is to get professionals and families to collaborate for the sake of the person suffering from mental illness.

A programme of activities has been organised around World Mental Health Day, including an event on Saturday at City Gate, Valletta, where flyers and stickers are to be distributed.

A mental health forum, including health professionals, as well as a group of mental health nursing students, is being set up to talk to the public about mental illness.

As part of the anti-stigma campaign, the association is also starting a course on coping effectively with mental illness for the public and, in particular, families of sufferers.

Starting on Friday, the course is composed of 13 lectures by professionals in the field and is aimed at educating relatives and carers to empower them to deal with mental illness.

"The more knowledge, the easier it is to deal with hardship," Ms Magro maintained.

The importance of education cannot be underestimated. "When families are educated, they stop depending entirely on services provided by the government and start advocating for the mentally ill themselves," she said.

The idea is to stop fear, prejudice and ignorance through knowledge, acceptance and understanding.

The association is also in the process of publishing three booklets to teach primary schoolchildren, aged between six and 10, to understand and deal with mental illness in the family, again with the aim of educating the public and reducing the stigma.

The books, partly funded by EUFAMI, should be launched by the beginning of December and are being accompanied by talks in each primary school through guidance and counselling teachers.

Ms Magro appealed to families and carers of mental health patients, as well as professionals, to participate in the events in a show of solidarity and support and to help raise awareness.

The association numbers 300 family members but Ms Magro appealed for more to join.

A support group for carers of persons with mental illness meets every second Friday of the month at the Education Department, Floriana. For more information, contact Ms Magro on 2330 4029.

For more details on the course, being held at Robert Sammut Hall in Floriana, contact Carmen Galea on 2330 4125 or Lucy Attard on 2148 3077.