Mental Illness Myths

The following guest article from Swedish Health Services/Providence Health & Services is the fourth in a series debunking myths about mental illness that will be featured here on the SeattleNTC blog. Myth #4: Children are too young to develop mental illness From inconsolable preschoolers to moody teenagers, how do you know if it’s just a phase or a symptom of mental illness? “The difficult thing for parents is identifying what is a normal part of growing up, and what needs intervention,” said Dr. Joyce Gilbert, medical director of the Sexual Assault Clinic and Child Maltreatment Center at Providence St. Peter […]

The following guest article from Swedish Health Services/Providence Health & Services is the third in a series debunking myths about mental illness that will be featured here on the SeattleNTC blog. Myth #3: Mental illness often leads to violent and dangerous behavior When news of a shocking incident such as a mass shooting first reaches us on TV, it’s likely that we’ll hear the words “mental illness” as the media speculates why it happened. But less than five percent of violence in the United States is caused by people with mental illnesses. The truth is, a mentally ill person is […]

The following guest article from Swedish Health Services/Providence Health & Services is the second in a series debunking myths about mental illness that will be featured here on the SeattleNTC blog. Myth #2: You can just “snap out of it” We wouldn’t expect a person with a broken leg or diabetes to just” snap out of it,” and in the same way we shouldn’t expect a person to think their way out of a mental illness. “This misunderstanding is harmful because it creates unreasonable expectations and unnecessary suffering for people who have mental illness,” said Robin Henderson, PsyD, chief executive […]

The following guest article from Swedish Health Services/Providence Health & Services is the first in a series debunking myths about mental illness that will be featured here on the SeattleNTC blog.  Myth #1: Mental illness only affects certain types of people Each year, almost 1 in 5 Americans experience mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. More than half won’t be treated due to stigma, lack of access to services or lack of knowledge about help that is available. As part of our commitment to improving the lives of people with mental illness, we’re launching a series […]