Myths and Misperceptions about Mental Illness

 

·       A person who has schizophrenia has a “split personality”, or is undecided between two options.

          False.  Neither is true.  “Split personality” is actually a very rare condition known as multiple personality disorder.  Multiple personality   disorder is a dissociative disorder and is usually the result of severe childhood trauma or abuse.  Schizophrenia is a biologically based       disorder.

 

·       “Poor parenting” causes mental illness.

          False.  Although this is absolutely false, this misperception has caused great pain to countless parents, often preventing them          from seeking effective treatment for their loved one.

 

·       Mental Illness is a form of mental retardation.

          False.  Intelligence among those who have a mental illness is as equally distributed as it is among those who do not have a mental      illness.   Mental retardation, now called developmental disability, is the result of an extra           chromosome which results in an irreversible       stunting of the persons intellectual capacity.

 

·       Stress causes mental illness.

          False.  Although stress may exacerbate the symptoms of mental illness, or trigger the onset of an episode, the actual causes of    mental illness appear to be biological changes

 

·       Mental illness is inherited.

          Yes and No.  This is partially true.  It seems that some individuals do inherit a predisposition for a mental illness, and some forms of mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, so tend to run in families more than do others.  However, the onset of mental illness is much more complicated than can be accounted for by genetics alone.

 

·       Mental illness is contagious.

False.  Absolutely untrue.  You can not “catch” a mental illness by being around someone who has one.  However, one theory about the cause of some forms of mental illness does implicate an as yet unknown virus that may affect a fetus in utero.

 

·       People who have mental illness are dangerous.

False.  News reports and movies to the contrary, people who have a mental illness and are treated are no more violent than anyone else is.  In fact, they are much more often the victims of violence than are those who do not have a mental illness.  Sadly, 30-75% of individuals who have a mental illness, abuse drugs and/or alcohol, and are not receiving integrated substance abuse and mental health treatment, and may be more prone to violence.  Violent behavior can result when the individual with a mental illness does not take prescribed medication, and abuses drugs and/ or alcohol.  Violence in the non-mentally ill population is also frequently associated with drug and/or alcohol use or abuse.