Minerva Magazine offers a sample of projects by sophomore, emerging researchers in the Residential Colleges. Articles are written by students in the Capstone Courses of the Ashby and Strong Residential Colleges. Below is a repost from Minerva Magazine 2018.
How many times have you been quick to judge someone based on the way they look or act? Well, we are all guilty of judging others too soon. For example, if a kid is sleeping in class, one may assume that the student does not care about school or the subject that they are learning. This form of judging and stereotyping can be seen in many areas in life. Now imagine living every day in constant paranoia, waking up and having hallucinations or delusions, and not really knowing how to distinguish what is real from what is in your imagination.
Now think about how others may treat you because you are ‘different.’ People with schizophrenia go about their day seeming normal on the outside, but on the inside they are fighting a mental battle. Instead of our society being supportive and concerned for these people’s well-being, too often society judges and stereotypes them as ‘crazy.’ In her research paper, “Umbrella in the Rain: Stigma Surrounding Schizophrenia,” Lex Lee, sophomore Social Work major at UNCG, confirmed that society views people with mental disorders in this way.
Lex has poured her all into her research regarding how the stigma associated with schizophrenia can influence an individual’s willingness to seek treatment. As one who has experienced social backlash for seeking mental health expertise firsthand, Lex is very passionate about pursuing this topic. “I’ve also been interested in mental health as a whole. Through coming to college, seeing things on T.V., and moving around a lot, I have seen how individuals with mental disorders are treated and how they are unfairly stereotyped. I wanted to pursue this topic to advocate for change.” Lex hopes that through her research people will begin to understand what schizophrenia actually is, the ways that we can become more aware of mental health, and how the stigma produced by our society deters these mentally ill people from seeking the treatment that they could benefit from.
Pursuing a degree in clinical social work, Lex anticipates the day when she will be working with people who are dealing with a variety of mental health disorders. Her research on this topic will not only have an effect on her future career, but also on the greater community. “It involves more than just myself. It involves everyone because we are all responsible for wrongly stereotyping, so the purpose of this [research] is to inform the greater community of the problem.”
Lex proclaims that her research is for “anyone in society because I feel like at some point we are all guilty of wrongly stereotyping people with mental illnesses. We need to be informed of the stigma associated with mental health because you don’t know the weight that your words carry, and a seemingly innocent joke could be taken seriously by someone facing these mental health issues.” If people are aware of the impact our actions have, we can help put an end to the negative stigma associated with schizophrenia.
In her research, Lex conducted a poll asking people what the first words were that came to mind when they thought of schizophrenia, and the majority of people said “crazy.” This supports her claim about how society stereotypes people with mental disabilities. Unfortunately, there seems to be a mentality of “if they are not ‘normal,’ they must be ‘crazy.’” Now, most people know it can be difficult to avoid using this language that is a common part of our society. Lex even admitted that one of the more difficult parts of her research was “selecting non-offensive words such as ‘schizophrenic’ rather than ‘crazy’” when she was conducting interviews and writing. Nonetheless, her research has the potential to impact the greater community on the issue of wrongly stereotyping individuals with mental disabilities, and her research even strengthens UNCG.
If you have ever been to UNCG during the month of September you have seen the colorful pinwheels and the encouraging signs that advocate for mental health awareness. “As a school,” says Lex, “we are always striving to be inclusive, trying not to stereotype people with mental illness, which is often overlooked in comparison to other issues.” While UNCG does a phenomenal job of making its campus and activities all inclusive, sometimes, on the individual level, it is easy to forget about being inclusive of those with mental health issues. Lex’s research about the stigma of mental illness on people seeking treatment has the potential to strengthen our community. “By understanding the impact words and actions can have on those who are in need of treatment, we can better address the issue, and we can be more aware of when we are contributing to the negative stigma.”
Lex states that she “would like to see discrimination, stereotyping, and implicit bias against those with mental health issues vanish. I would like to see it eradicated. Life is hard enough, and people suffering from mental illnesses don’t need others judging them for what they have to go through.” The labeling, judging, and stereotyping that society places upon those with mental health disorders can steer them away from finding treatment.
Her title, “Umbrella in the Rain,” is a metaphor. Lex explains that our negative words and actions contribute to the stigma, represented by the rain, and the umbrella is the treatment people want or need. When we marginalize individuals who seek treatment for mental disorders, we are having a negative impact on their lives and their health.
Lex reminds us that “you never know what one goes through, and what you say and do can be offensive if you are not aware.” It is critical that people begin to understand how actions and words can affect others.
By Morgan Fadely
Repost from Minerva Magazine 2018
The URSCO blog helps UNCG’s undergraduate scholars share their work and impact with the world. Interested in sharing your work? Contact URSCO Director Lee Phillips at plphilli@uncg.edu or Office of Research and Engagement Media and Communication Manager Sangeetha Shivaji at s.shivaji@uncg.edu.
