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Mental
illness is a subject that has too often been misunderstood and feared.
People with mental illness or people who exhibit the behaviors commonly
associated with mental illness have been shunned, ostracized, or
made the brunt of jokes.
Among those
who suffer from brain disorders, this insensitivity perpetuates
a stigma that creates silence and shame. In this forthcoming documentary,
individuals and their families who are living outside the lines
of "normal" -- people who have experienced mental illness at its
worst and people who have had successful ongoing treatment -- tell
their rich and provocative stories.
By seeing and
hearing stories that have seldom been told, viewers may come to
appreciate the damaging effects of stigma, especially among young
people for whom mental illness often emerges just as they are on
the cusp of experiencing their creative potential as human beings.
The program
is also intended to encourage greater public awareness about:
- the challenge
of finding appropriate treatment, regardless of class, culture
and religious backgrounds;
- the surprising
frequency of depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia among
us; and,
- the pitfalls
and possibilities in the current transition from hospital-based
to community-based treatment options.
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