Mental illness ‘hidden by 75%’
Those with mental health issues, particularly depression and schizophrenia, also find it virtually impossible to get mortgages, holiday insurance or bank loans, a conference on tackling mental health stigma heard in Waterford yesterday.
“People with mental illnesses have been put out, hidden away from the community,” said Samaritans PRO Avril Halley. “We need to include these people in the community. The stigma which surrounds mental illness does huge damage to sufferers.
“People have to realise that mental illness is just that - an illness. And people do get better. We have seen change in our society and people are now more prepared to talk about it,” she added.
Plans to move the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) from its current site in Dundrum to north county Dublin, next to a new prison, will only stigmatise mental illness further, said Fran Gleeson, south east co-ordinator of Aware.
“If we as a society allow the hospital to be developed next to the prison, it will only add to the stigma and the discrimination which we’ve all been fighting to end.”
Mr Gleeson said it is up to all those with mental health issues, their families and friends to stop the move. “We have to lobby our TDs and those in power to get a stand-alone facility. Otherwise, the work we have done in the past to destigmatise mental illness will be undone,” he added.
He added that the greatest fear among people with a mental illness is that others will find out. “Our figures show that one in 10 people suffer from depression. And one in 100 have schizophrenia. Three-quarters of people will cover this up from their employer or when going for a job, specifically because they don’t want the stigma and fear employers will think that just because they have a mental illness, they will need more time off work.
“We need to remove the fear through education. But in the meantime, the Government needs to buck the trend. For every €20 spent in health, just 6% or €1.32 is spent on mental health.”
Brendan Kenny, who has schizophrenia, said relocating the CMH next to a prison was a backward move. “A lot of people in Dundrum are already treated like criminals. They should be treated as people, as patients.”
