Transcript National Alliance on Mental Illness

National Alliance on
Mental Illness
A self-help organization dedicated to improving
the lives of people with a serious mental illness
KEY MESSAGE: You are not alone
• support
• education
• advocacy
Overview of Talk
• Rationale for mental illness school
education
• Warning signs of mental illness
• Stigma associated with mental illness
• How the Breaking the Silence school
education project teaches about mental
illness
BREAKING THE SILENCE: Teaching
the Next Generation about Mental Illness
• Recognize the warning
signs of mental illness
• Learn that mental illness
is treatable
• Fight the stigma that
surrounds mental illness
The importance of
mental illness education
• Mental illness is not generally included in the school
health curriculum.
• At least 1 in 5 adults suffer from a mental illness in a
given year – Surgeon General’s Report 2000
• 5 of the 10 leading causes of lifetime disability are
mental illnesses – and depression leads a list that
includes bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, OCD, and
substance abuse. Global Burden of Disease Study, 1990
• Illnesses like AIDS and breast cancer affect far less
people, but ARE an accepted part of the health
curriculum
• Substance abuse is regularly taught, but without
reference to mental illness which is often a co-occurring
disorder
How common is mental illness in
children & adolescents?
• 1 in 10 children and adolescents suffer from a
mental illness requiring treatment
• Before the age of 14 half who will develop a
major mental illness are already showing
symptoms
• Of those needing it less than 1 in 5 will receive
treatment
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death in
teenagers ages 15 to 24.
Surgeon General’s Report - 2001
Impact of Untreated Mental Illness
in the Classroom
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Inattentive students
Poor attendance
Bullying
Disruptive behavior
Weak social skills
• Mental illness affects
people from all walks
of life, regardless of
age, race, income,
religion, or education
• Mental illnesses are
no fault brain
disorders
Jessica Lynch
Miss New York State
2004
What are some of the mental
illnesses that affect young people?
• MOOD DISORDERS – depression, bipolar
disorder
• THOUGHT DISORDERS – schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder
• ANXIETY DISORDERS – examples:
phobias, social anxiety disorder, panic
disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder
• EATING DISORDERS – anorexia, bulimia
What are the warning signs of
mental illness?
• Dramatic changes in behavior
• Persist over an extended period of
time
• Affect quality of life
• Typical symptoms
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Personality and extreme mood changes
Changes in sleep and eating patterns
Inability to concentrate and cope
Extreme anxiety and irrational fears
Bizarre behavior and speech
Social isolation
Reckless and uncontrolled behavior
Suicidal thoughts and actions
Let’s talk about
Stigma
Stigma Deeply Rooted in
Our Culture
• Every socioeconomic group
tends to devalue people with
mental illness
• Stereotypes reinforced by the
media
--Television
-- Radio
-- Press
-- Commercials/print ads
-- Movies
Stereotype of violence
• People with mental illness are
frequently portrayed as villains
in TV and movies
• On soap operas 2/3 of people
with a mental illness are
portrayed as violent
• More likely to be victims of
violence than perpetrators
• One out of six people with a
mental illness has been a victim
of a violent crime
Jack Nicholson in the
movie The Shining
Stigma Learned at Early Age
• Children’s media
parallels adult
stereotypes
• Predominant image is
violent, fear producing
• Message is that
isolation not treatment
is the answer
Sheldon Silverstein, Uncle
Shelby’s ABZ Book
Impact of stigma on access to care
and opportunities
Second class status of mental health
coverage
Scarcity of child psychiatrists – only 6,000
Lack of housing leads to homelessness
Limited job opportunities
College acceptance may be impacted if
mental illness is disclosed
Not enough money for research
How does stigma affect someone
struggling with mental illness?
• Feelings of shame and isolation
• Loss of friends
• Future thrown off course –
education, profession, marriage
• Lowers self-esteem
How are families affected by
stigma?
• Feelings of secrecy and
shame
• Difficult to get family
member to accept treatment
• Family becomes isolated
from friends and extended
family
• NAMI study showed that
70% of their members’
marriages ended in divorce
How are siblings affected
by stigma?
• Loss of relationship
with brother or sister
• Am I responsible?
• Feelings of neglect
• Survivors guilt
• Will I get it?
• Fearful of
classmates and
friends finding out
What impact does stigma and
mental illness have on schools?
• Families afraid to disclose psychiatric
problems
• Teachers often not trained to recognize or
handle mental illness in the classroom
• School personnel fearful of speaking to
parents about psychological problems
BREAKING THE SILENCE: Teaching the
Next Generation About Mental Illness
• For three grade levels: upper
elementary, middle school, and high
school
• Each grade level packet includes
lessons with fully scripted questions
and responses, posters, games and
definitions.
• User friendly and fully scripted
• Lessons are story based
• Emphasis on serious mental illness
Following up in the classroom
• Suggested crosscurricular activities
• Topics for further study
• Annotated book/video
lists
• Recommended websites
for further exploration of
the topic
Elementary School Fighting Stigma
Lisa’s story
• Lisa’s brother who is seeing a psychiatrist is called “a
mental” by an insensitive classmate
Stay-at-Home Mondays
• Jessica, who suffers from depression is isolated and treated
abusively by her peers
Knock-Knock Who’s There?
• David suffers in silence as caretaker for his formerly fun
loving mom who is in a deep depression
Role plays
• Using brain puppets students practice listening and
responding empathetically – Listen, Care, Ask, Suggest
Middle School – Fighting Stigma
Stop Pretending Poems
• Poems illustrate the cruelty of other students
who make jokes about the author’s older
sister who has developed bipolar disorder.
Famous Persons with Mental Illness Word
Search
• Includes names such as Lincoln, Mark
Twain, and Monica Seles who suffered from
a mental illness
The Brain Game
• A board game in which teams compete in
answering review questions. Game cards
provide multiple examples of stigmatizing
and stigma busting behavior.
High School – Fighting Stigma
Ross Szabo – bipolar disorder
• Director of Youth Outreach for the
National Mental Health Awareness
Campaign
• Ross travels around the country to
college campuses educating people
about mental illness
• Featured in stories in Seventeen and
Parade magazines
Jessica Lynch - depression
• Miss NYS 2004
• Made mental illness her platform
Meera Popkin – schizophrenia
• Actress. Major roles in London and
Broadway productions
• Continued to pursue her musical theatre
career despite her illness
Ross Szabo
Lectures at colleges
Elementary School – Symptoms of
Mental Illness
Stay at Home Mondays –
depression
• Multiple moves caused Jessica to
withdraw socially
• Didn’t want to go to school
• Complained of aches and pains
• Suicidal thoughts
Knock-Knock Who’s There
• Mom’s dramatic change in
behavior
• Unable to cope with functions of
daily living
• Can’t get out of bed. Sleeps too
much.
Brains Can Get Sick Too poster
Middle School – Symptoms of
Mental Illness
A Mother’s Day Gift
• Story of a high school student’s struggle with
schizophrenia.
• Extreme anxiety
• Bizarre and obsessive behavior
• Deterioration in grooming
• Grades went down. Couldn’t concentrate.
• Delusions – The CIA was after him.
Nothing to Sneeze At
• Story of Emily’s resistance to acknowledging
her OCD
• Fear of contamination
• Counting rituals
• Excessive hand washing
• Late to school
The Brain Game
• Team competition questions include symptoms
High School – Symptoms of
Mental Illness
Schizophrenia as a Thought Disorder
• Delusions – paranoid thoughts
• Hallucinations – auditory & visual
• Excerpts from books, short stories
--Lori Schiller told by TV it was her
responsibility to save the world.
--Brandon Fitch felt covers on magazine
covers were jumping out a him
--Colors too intense to bear
--Couldn’t block out background noise
Are These the Normal Ups and Downs of
Adolescence or Mental Illness?
--Students asked to distinguish normal from
abnormal behavior
Warning signs of Mental Illness Poster
All Levels – Treatment works
Elementary
• “Brains can get sick too, but with treatment
they can get better” poster
• Lisa’s brother in “Lisa’s Story” is being
treated for his mental illness
• Treatment for mental illness compared to
treatment for other illnesses such as heart
disease.
Middle School
• “Nothing to Sneeze At” ends with Emily
agreeing to see a therapist.
• Story describes a form of behavioral
therapy used to treat people with OCD.
• In “A Mother’s Day Gift” Brian requires
hospitalization
High School
• Introductory lesson goes into detail about
comparative success rates for treatment of
mental illness compared to heart disease.
• Examples of young people being
successfully treated for mental illness.
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National Health Education Standards
support teaching about mental illness
STUDENTS WILL:
• Comprehend concepts related to health
promotion and disease prevention.
• Demonstrate the ability to access valid health
information and health promoting products and
services.
• Analyze the influence of culture, media and
technology and other factors on health.
• Demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal,
family, and community health.
How teachers can integrate mental
illness into the existing curriculum
• Teach tolerance toward
people with mental illness
as part of anti-bullying/
character education
curriculum
• Integrate into Substance
Abuse curriculum. At
least half the people with
mental illness selfmedicate by using drugs
or alcohol
Why teach students about
mental illness?
• Recognize warning signs in
themselves and others
• Encourage early treatment
• Combat the stigma that
surrounds mental illness
• Discourage bullying and abusive
behavior
• Create a more compassionate
and concerned society
HELP EDUCATE
YOUNG PEOPLE
ABOUT
MENTAL ILLNESS
Contact us for more information
BREAKING THE SILENCE
NAMI Queens/Nassau
1981 Marcus Avenue, C-117
Lake Success, NY 11042
(516) 326-0797 or (718) 347-7284
www.btslessonplans.org