Research Log #4 - Solutionary Project 20210

Date: February 24, 2021

Name: Kai Gardiner
Essential Question: How can we break the stigma of mental illness?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Mental illness is an illness.

#2: Mental illness is a serious problem.

#3: Many people us suffer from mental illness.

#4: How can we help others with mental illness.

Point that this Source Prove: How can we break the stigma of mental illness?

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

“Why are people with Cancer known as strong, courageous, determined and brave but people with Mental
illness are not treated the same”

“Stigma is a deterrent to seeking treatment and untreated mental illness robs people of the very things that
define quality of life”

“Mental illnesses are real illnesses brain chemistry contributes to brain illness”

“Research has proven that eating disorders just like schizophrenia and depression our brain-based illnesses”

“The National Institute of Health spent six hundred and seventy-four million on breast caner research that’s
good and only forty-six million on suicide research”

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

In this source Kitty Westin, the presenter talks about the stigma of mental illness. After watching this
video, I realized how stigma affects mental health. I have family members that have mental illnesses, and the
situation Kitty Westin’s daughter was in is very similar to my family member. Kitty Westin is trying to prove
that mental illness is an illness. “Why are people with Cancer known as strong, courageous, determined and
brave but people with Mental illness are not treated the same”. People with mental illnesses are not treated
the same because we cannot see them suffer like people with cancer. This is what makes people think that
mental illness is not that serious which leads to negative talk or even teasing people about their mental
illness. Mental illness is an illness, and it has been proven by research that people’s brain with mental
illnesses functions different.
 People that tease other people about their mental illness do not understand what is going in their
mind. We can not read what is going on in their mind. This leads to people not getting treated because they
are sacred of other people judging them. “Stigma is a deterrent to seeking treatment and untreated mental
illness robs people of the very things that define quality of life”. An example of stigma was a young girl
Leslie went to hospital because of stomach pain. She admitted that she had bulimia and that she had bulimia.
She admitted that she was not treating it. Rather than treating her symptoms the doctor said, “you did this to
yourself; you have to fix it yourself”. Leslie stomach burst and died. This is the worst stigma. “It’s your fault
that you have a mental illness”. The example of Leslie is an example of how people think of mental illness.
People say, “why can you just stop or get rid or your mental illness?” It is not like we can just let it go. It is a
disease that you must grow out of and learn how to deal with it. Mental health affects the quality of your life.
“Stigma is a deterrent to seeking treatment and untreated mental illness robs people of the very things that
define quality of life”. Many people do not seek treatment and suffer from mental illness because of stigma.

How can your community help with mental illness? The world needs to be nicer. We also need to
spread more awareness about mental illness. You have probably seen a breast cancer walk or a cancer
awareness walk. Have you ever seen a walk for mental illness, depression, and suicide? We need to spread
awareness that mental illness is a serious problem, and, in this video, Kitty showed good examples of what it
could lead to like suicide. Kitty has experience mental illness firsthand with her daughter taking her life
because of her eating disorder.

Work Cited (correct MLA format):

Bing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2021, from https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how%2Bwe

%2Bbreak%2Bthe%2Bstigma%2Bof%2Bmental
%2Billness&&view=detail&mid=8358FB89BBE12E4F1CCC8358FB89BBE12E4F1CCC&FORM=V
RDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dhow%2Bwe%2Bbreak%2Bthe%2Bstigma%2Bof
%2Bmental%2Billness%26FORM%3DHDRSC4

This is a reputable and reliable article because it is a Ted x Talks which is a reliable YouTube channel with many
followers and have presenters that have lots of knowledge on what they are presenting. Many doctors and
professionals present on Ted X Talks.