Discrimination hurting the Economy?

Cheverton, Jeff. "Mental Health Discrimination Uneconomic." The Sydney Morning Herald. N.p., 29 Apr. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/mental-health-discrimination-costs-us-all-20100429-tu2t.html 

With money being so tight these days and the economy in the dumps, you'd think people would do anything to try and get back on our feet. Well, a new study shows that discrimination of people with mental illnesses is actually costing the government money. Though they pay for anti-stigma campaigns on television, they only need to try and tone it down to really make any impact. With people getting treatment early on, before reaching their disaster point through teasing, they can actually get better faster and get back to the work force. This would, in turn, reduce the amount of time spent in the hospital and it would take less money out of people bank accounts to pay for medical bills. And there would be an increased amount of people at work with less and less people taking their time. This would be saving the government money people! And it's been proven that half of all Australians experience a mental disorder at some point in their lives! So why not try to stop the abuse and give a little love?


Ok, for beginners, this is slightly bias seeing as how the author is a board member of the Mental Health Board of Australia. But it does bring up some key points that really get the message out that, "Hey! We could be saving money if we just learned to be nice to each other!". I could use this, even though it's again from a foreign country, due to its factual basis. This would give some really good stats for my paper and give some really good background on how it could be changed. 

Canada: Land of Discrimination?

Goar, Carol. "Mentally ill endure chronic discrimination." The Star. N.p., 5 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. http://www.thestar.com/Opinion/EditorialOpinion/article/916148

As I filtered through the useless articles on the internet, (literally how many could there be?), I came across this article from Canada.

Canada has put forth many different acts and laws to try to combat the discrimination of the mentally ill and, as Goar sees it, it just isn't enough. People are still getting discriminated whether they went to the grocery store or they try to get a house or apartment. This year, alone, there have been over a thousand complaints due to this. Though she gives no opinion on how to change the system or the country, she basically leads out to say that things might get better if everything goes according to plan. But as I read this, it doesn't really seem like that would be the case. I mean, according to the article, this could take up to ten years! If it really took that long for people to not be made fun of, the world would be a better place. There are no biases in this article simply due to the fact that it's mostly just factual information let out to the public. I probably could use some of this in my research just because of the statistics and such but would it really be that useful as a way of showing ways to change it? Ah, no. But I liked the article even though Canada is a bit out of reach but from an American teenager standpoint, including all the horrible biases, Canada is supposed to be a little nicer and all around nicer than the United States. So you have to ask yourself....How bad is it in the United States? :(

A.D.H.D....What a joke!

Breggin, Peter R. "A.D.H.D. Is a Misdiagnosis." New York Times. N.p., 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/10/12/are-americans-more-prone-to-adhd/adhd-is-a-misdiagnosis?scp=4&sq=mental%20illness&st=Search

This article was something I stumbled on while searching for something on the New York Times. Many teens and pre-teens have been diagnosed with A.D.D. or A.D.H.D. and are given medication to "calm" their hyperactive and sometimes obnoxious behaviors. But is this actually true? Through the study of the past few years, Mr. Breggin has proven that not to be the case. Though many children are loud, bored, and sometimes just god awful, that's just how children are. This does not mean that anything is wrong with them. In the 1970's, drug companys, trying to boost revenue and make a little money, started creating these pills to make children more still and more attentitive. Parents, in a rush to find something to calm their child, took them to a doctor who prescribed them with this medication. Many children don't actually have A.D.H.D. and are just taking pills for no reason! In current studies, students who were taken in as possible A.D.H.D. patients went in for a psychosocial education evaluation. With a few hours of improved teaching and parenting, they soon improved and showed no signs of the supposed mental illness.

I found this article facinating because I never knew that this was actually true. I thought that people just had it and that it was cut and dry. But I never knew such a scandal could exist. I mean I personally know someone diagnosed with A.D.H.D. and now I have to wonder if he actually has it, or if it's just a clever ruse. The article makes you think, no?

Shunned

Thornicroft, Graham. Shunned: Discrimination against Mental Illness. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/joped-11-no-1-2009-book-review.pdf

This book, or at least the review I read of it, is completely facinating. What would it be like to be mentally handicapped in a world where no one seems to really care what you think? This book brings that to question, attacking the medical system and many other systems along the way. Through the personal accounts of others with the same predicament, the research shows that people with a mental illness usually don't get health care, a well-paying job if even a job, and being treated terribly at their very own medical institution and home. But he also shows how this can be changed, through the education of mental illness so more people can understand what they're going through. It's not really like they can help it to be honest. Also, he points out that in a survey conducted in the United Kingdom, 77 percent of people knew someone with a mental illness but the only knowledge really attained was from the mass media. Everyone knows that the mass media is sometimes...sketchy when it comes to providing genuine information especially on such a touchy subject. In my personal opinion, I think it's terribly wrong what's happening to the people who are affected. They shouldn't be treated any differently than us. Though they may not have what we take for granted, they still have feelings and thoughts. They should be allowed to choose what type of treatment they are recieving like the force feeding of anorexics (Article I did a while back). Though much is covered in the book, I still believe more can be done to bring awareness.

But then again, that's just my opinion.

Reflection of Topics

As the time rolled through this year, I have already decided what I want to do my paper on. Though the articles I found were interesting, disturbing, and sometimes just awkward, the topics have all managed to almost mesh in my mind. With using the few about discrimination of people with a mental illness such as anorexia and insanity, I believe I will do my paper on those with the thought that this could be a very broad topic. Should I stick with just the discrimination in comic books? Or discrimination in hospitals with the mentally handicapped? This is also a very touchy subject for many, so I would have be very careful with how I present my topic and how I prove myself. But I think I can do it. :-) So, I will be doing my research paper on the discrimination of people with a mental illness. I still have to find the specifics but I'm proud of myself for my decision.