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Originally Posted by abc
Mental illness can effect a wide range of people and can manifest itself in different ways. I think featuring someone like Stephen Fry who is intelligent, well-spoken and likeable is probably the best way of removing some of the stigma surrounding it. I think focussing on the so-called "darker side" of mental illness is likely to reinforce negative stereotypes. I think it's important to realise that the majority of people diagnosed with a mental illness are relatively "normal" and live normal, everyday lives.
I think people definitely be more sympathetic towards the sort of people you mention, but I'm not sure what the best way of addressing it would be. If you made a documentary about the man who hangs around the bins at Kwik Save shouting at traffic I imagine you would get an overwhelmingly negative response and it would do nothing but reinforce negative stereotypes. I'm not sure what the answer is.
My own experience is very similar to this. They painted a very bleak picture for me, telling me I would have to spend the rest of my life on horrible medication and offering nothing in the way of real support. Despite considering myself fully recovered I now have a label for life and will always have the stigma of being labelled with a serious mental illness. I think this is a problem with the way mental illness is treated in general.
As for a documentary about SA, I don't think it would be considered "interesting" enough for anyone to make a documentary about it.
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You make some very good points. Although Stephen Fry isn't everyone's cup of tea he is well known, intelligent, etc so people may watch the programme because of him even if they wouldn't normally watch something about mental illness.
I have watched documentaries about Broadmoor for example in the past, which have been a lot darker and more bleak. But I wouldn't want that to be the only type of programme made on the subject because like you said, it would just reinforce the stigma against people with mental illnesses and the fear that someone with a serious diagnosis must be dangerous, which isn't the case at all.