04/04/2007

Stigma Busters

Groups aim to clear up mental disorder misunderstandings

By
Record-Eagle staff writer

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Wayne Ennis coped with prolonged and chronic depression after separating from his wife.

By the Numbers

46 — Percent of Americans who will meet the criteria for mental disorder in their lifetime.

60 — Percent of people with an acute mental illness who are unaware of it.

90 — Percent of people who commit suicide that have a mental disorder.

31 — Amount in billions estimated to cost employers with workers suffering from depression.

— Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness, Michigan, mi.nami.org

TRAVERSE CITY — Wayne Ennis took a picture of an egg.

"That was me,” he said. "Strong.”

Then his marriage hit the rocks and severe depression set in. Ennis nearly commited suicide.

His next image shows that egg cracked open, oozing white and yolk.

"That's me with my guts spilled out,” he said. "All my emotions and stuff just out there for everybody to see — like a humpty-dumpty thing. It took five years to put it back together. I'm still not 100 percent, but I'm getting there.”

Ennis, 53, of Traverse City is one of about 60 participants in a series of regional groups through Northern Lakes Community Mental Health. Funded by a state block grant, they are attempting to "bust the stigma” wrapped around individuals with a mental disorder, and fuel a paradigm shift to build understanding and acceptance in society.

The groups have each met four times in Cadillac, Grayling, Houghton Lake and Traverse City. They are taking a five-pronged approach to stigma busting.

One avenue is the participant's creation of "photobiography” as a symbolic representation of their journey of recovery.

Disposable cameras were handed out, with instructions to shoot the world around them. Those images will be displayed at the Traverse Area District Library beginning April 30.

Other planned approaches include televised panel discussions, "faces of mental illness” displays and a speaker's bureau. Suttons Bay high school students have been tapped to create anti-stigma TV and radio spots planned to air this summer.

The photo component was the brainchild of Mary Pierce, a remedial English instructor at Northwestern Michigan College. A photographer herself, she's been teaching the concept in her class for several years. She said the reaction by the "consumers” — or clients of mental health services — is that the photo project was "better than therapy.”

"They are looking at their recovery process from a brand new direction that they are controlling,” Pierce said. "They're writing their perceptions and taking their photos. It's really empowered them to look at the recovery process in a whole new way.”

She plans to film the photo presentations for potential documentary material. Hopes are that the photo display influences public perception.

But stigma is endemic. And there are several key points to the battle. One is changing the language used. Words like "manic” and "crazy” are out. Even the term mental "illness” carries connotations of sickness, conjuring images of the old state hospital system. Mental "disorder” is preferred by many consumers.

The other front is parity, or the inability for persons with a mental disorder to get adequate insurance coverage for treatment. More than 95 percent of plans impose limits on mental care, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Barbara Quinn, Ed.D, the operations head at NLCMH, said it will be an ongoing struggle to change societal perceptions. That's why part of the project is targeting stigma in public schools, hoping to alter attitudes early.

In January, the group met with a class at Suttons Bay High School, where the students are making anti-stigma commercials for the project. Group participant Dana Hendrickson said the maturity level of the students surprised her.

"They had a lot of great questions,” she said. "We were able to squash a lot of myths about mental illness. A lot of them thought it's a choice — a bunch of people in straight jackets, drooling, yada, yada, yada — but people can live normal lives.”

The reaction by the Suttons Bay students is a good sign, said Quinn, who oversees Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. Other school visits in the area are planned. And targeting stigma in children can be a two-for-one deal if it attracts parental attention.

"There will be need for ongoing education,” she said. "Certainly one thing we're really excited about is getting into the schools and trying to have some impact with folks when they're much younger.”

The group is planning to rally at the capitol building in Lansing on May 24. The photo displays will be at the Inside Out Gallery in Traverse City this fall.

"It's one thing to have a professional do a presentation at say, a Rotary meeting,” said Quinn. "But to actually have people who have lived through that and are struggling with it — that's very powerful. That gets attention.”