{"id":1756,"date":"2016-10-05T07:52:21","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T07:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/?p=1756"},"modified":"2016-10-02T23:10:20","modified_gmt":"2016-10-02T23:10:20","slug":"help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html","title":{"rendered":"Help Wanted: Good Citizen To Support Depressed People"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"depression<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
December 25, 2014<\/a><\/span> by DavidSusman<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
\n

In school, we all learned several ways to be a \u201cgood citizen\u201d: vote, participate in community service, be a good neighbour, follow the rules, and treat others with respect. All of these are important responsibilities which contribute to a better society.<\/p>\n

But did you ever stop to think about how you can\u00a0be a good citizen by\u00a0supporting\u00a0people with mental illness? This is not something most of us were ever taught\u00a0when we were growing up.<\/p>\n

Consequently, many intelligent, well-intentioned people don\u2019t know much about mental illness or are misinformed about what it is, and\u00a0they may feel uncomfortable around people with mental illness. Also,\u00a0the comments\u00a0or\u00a0words they use to describe people with mental illness are sometimes insensitive or disrespectful.<\/p>\n

So what if you\u00a0want to help but you aren\u2019t sure how to\u00a0begin?\u00a0Let me suggest several simple but important ways you can learn how to be that\u00a0\u201cgood citizen\u201d and clearly show your support for people with mental illness. I\u2019ve listed them in order, from options that take little effort to ones that\u00a0may require a larger commitment of your time and energy.<\/p>\n

Learn the facts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Understand the basic facts about mental illnesses. Mental illness can affect anyone, and 1 in 4 adults will experience a mental illness in a given year. Treatment is effective, it\u2019s widely available, and people do recover, but over half of the people with a mental illness never receive care. One good resource to learn some of the basics is this fact sheet <\/a>from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).<\/p>\n

Shatter the myths<\/b><\/h3>\n

As you learn the facts, it\u2019s also important to understand and debunk some of the myths surrounding mental illnesses. For example, it\u2019s often stated that people with mental illness are prone to be violent. Actually, they are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. In fact, they are 10 times more likely to be the victims of violent crime. Another incorrect assumption is that mental illnesses are just a weakness or character flaw. The fact is they are disorders influenced by many biological and environmental factors. Check out this article<\/a> from the US Department of Health and Human Services\u00a0to see more of these myths and the real facts.<\/p>\n

Show respect<\/b><\/h3>\n

Many negative terms and labels are used to describe people with mental illness. Insensitive or inappropriate language creates stigma and discrimination toward\u00a0people with mental illness. It\u2019s vital to respect the dignity of each individual, regardless of their mental health issues or diagnosis. The recommended rule of thumb is to use \u201cperson-first\u201d or \u201cpeople-first\u201d language, which focuses more on the person, and doesn\u2019t define them by their illness. For example, it\u2019s better to say \u201cMary has schizophrenia\u201d rather than \u201cMary is a schizophrenic.\u201d To learn more about people-first language guidelines, here\u2019s a useful brochure<\/a> from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.<\/p>\n

Make a donation<\/b><\/h3>\n

Make a donation to one of the many organizations that do great work in support, education and advocacy for people with mental illness and their loved ones. Since there are several terrific ones, I won\u2019t make specific endorsements, but just search online or ask local mental health contacts to help identify some of these types of organizations. Then make a contribution to one or more groups that are fighting the good fight. While monetary donations are always welcome, many groups will also gladly accept contributions of gently used items such as\u00a0electronics or clothing.<\/p>\n

Get a first-hand account<\/b><\/h3>\n

Another simple but meaningful way to support people with mental illness is to understand their life experiences, their challenges, and their personal victories. Sit down and talk with someone who is willing to share their story about their own illness. Or read one of the many excellent autobiographical accounts of people who have dealt with mental illness and who have thrived despite facing significant\u00a0obstacles on their path to recovery.<\/p>\n

Attend an event<\/b><\/h3>\n

Attend a mental health event in your area to learn more about mental illnesses and efforts to promote better mental health services. This is also a great opportunity to meet persons with mental illness, advocates, and other supporters of mental health initiatives. Many groups will offer free seminars, charity walks, support groups,\u00a0family support and educational resources to help you become more aware of current issues\u00a0related to mental health care in your community and across the nation.<\/p>\n

Volunteer<\/b><\/h3>\n

Offer a few hours of your time on a regular basis to do volunteer work for one of the organizations that offer services and supports for people with mental illness. In this way you can further increase your knowledge and awareness and also gain satisfaction from directly helping others who need support. Be enthusiastic in promoting the good works of the organization and recruit others to help with their worthy causes.<\/p>\n

Help someone in need<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you have friends, family members, neighbours, co-workers or other contacts who are struggling with mental illness or perhaps just emotional distress, reach out to them. Help them connect with\u00a0resources such as local mental health support organizations, useful books and websites, and how to access professional help if they are having significant concerns or they are in crisis.<\/p>\n

Consider further advocacy<\/b><\/h3>\n

Take your support for people with mental illness to the next level by getting involved in legislative advocacy. Share your views and concerns about the mental health system with your legislators and policy-makers. Connect with other mental health advocates who are working to create or amend laws and policies that will improve services and supports for people with mental illness.<\/p>\n

Through these important steps, you can become a good\u2026no, a great<\/em> citizen as you\u00a0support people with mental illness. Take action now. The need is great. With your generosity, enthusiasm, knowledge, respect, and compassion, you really can make a difference.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a question and a call to action: What can you do now to help support someone with a mental illness?<\/b> <\/i>Please leave a comment. Also please consider subscribing to my blog and feel free to follow me on Twitter<\/a>, or \u201clike\u201d my Facebook<\/a> page. Thanks!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

December 25, 2014 by DavidSusman In school, we all learned several ways to be a \u201cgood citizen\u201d: vote, participate in community service, be a good neighbour, follow the rules, and treat others with respect. All of these are important responsibilities which contribute to a better society. But did you ever stop to think about how…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,102],"tags":[2,12,158,28,40,6],"class_list":["post-1756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-depression-help-2","category-motivation","tag-depression","tag-emotional-health","tag-healing","tag-mood-disorders","tag-stigma","tag-terezia-farkas"],"yoast_head":"\nHelp Wanted: Good Citizen To Support Depressed People - Depression Help<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"did you ever stop to think about how you can be a good citizen by supporting people with mental illness? This is not something most of us were ever taught\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Help Wanted: Good Citizen To Support Depressed People - Depression Help\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"did you ever stop to think about how you can be a good citizen by supporting people with mental illness? This is not something most of us were ever taught\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Depression Help\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/on.fb.me\/1zSE4WB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-05T07:52:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-02T23:10:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/files\/2016\/10\/good-232x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Terezia Farkas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@tereziafarkas\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Help Wanted: Good Citizen To Support Depressed People - Depression Help","description":"did you ever stop to think about how you can be a good citizen by supporting people with mental illness? This is not something most of us were ever taught","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Help Wanted: Good Citizen To Support Depressed People - Depression Help","og_description":"did you ever stop to think about how you can be a good citizen by supporting people with mental illness? This is not something most of us were ever taught","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html","og_site_name":"Depression Help","article_author":"http:\/\/on.fb.me\/1zSE4WB","article_published_time":"2016-10-05T07:52:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-10-02T23:10:20+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/files\/2016\/10\/good-232x300.jpg"}],"author":"Terezia Farkas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@tereziafarkas","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html","name":"Help Wanted: Good Citizen To Support Depressed People - Depression Help","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/files\/2016\/10\/good-232x300.jpg","datePublished":"2016-10-05T07:52:21+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-02T23:10:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/#\/schema\/person\/d6c2df0b7a25217ed4853f2aec0340c9"},"description":"did you ever stop to think about how you can be a good citizen by supporting people with mental illness? This is not something most of us were ever taught","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/files\/2016\/10\/good-232x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/files\/2016\/10\/good-232x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2016\/10\/help-wanted-good-citizen-support-depressed-people.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Help Wanted: Good Citizen To Support Depressed People"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/","name":"Depression Help","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Terezia Farkas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/#\/schema\/person\/d6c2df0b7a25217ed4853f2aec0340c9","name":"Terezia Farkas","description":"Terezia Farkas is an international bestselling author in depression and grief. Terezia is a reiki master, psychic medium, and certified channeller. Visit Terezia Farkas on Twitter @tereziafarkas Website: http:\/\/www.tereziafarkas.com Honours: Alberta Lt. Governor Circle on Mental Health and Addictions award. Bell Let's Talk Social Media Ambassador 2017. CAMH (Canadian Addictions and Mental Health) 150 Difference Makers nominee. 2014 Global Crisis of Depression Summit at Kings Place in London on November 25, 2014, which included speakers Kofi A Anan, the 7th former Secretary General of the UN.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.tereziafarkas.com","http:\/\/on.fb.me\/1zSE4WB","https:\/\/x.com\/tereziafarkas"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/author\/tfarkas"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/578"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1756"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1761,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756\/revisions\/1761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}