Judging mental illness - Outdated and lethal

There’s hardly a family which has not been touched by mental health issues.

Indeed, far, far too many have had to try to come to terms with the ultimate manifestation of mental health difficulties — suicide.

A report from St Patrick’s University Hospital yesterday suggested that a proportion of suicides are the consequence of our outdated perception of mental illnesses as a stigma, a human failure beyond the ordinary.

The research found that one-in-five people, because of this judgement, wait up to a year before seeking help on mental health issues. During that wait some people, because of their vulnerability, cross the line between hope and tragedy.

That they do so because elements of society view their difficulties through a Victorian prism is more than regrettable.

However, the good news is that we can save lives by doing no more that changing our attitudes to mental illnesses and the people so challenged.