Sydni White

January 26th, 2015

Summary Response Paper
UWRIT 1102-008

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, National Association of County Behavioral Health & Developmental Disability
Directors, National Institute of Mental Health, The Carter Center Mental Health Program.
Attitudes Toward Mental Illness: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Atlanta (GA); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2012.

Summary of the Article:

The report discusses the way people tend to perceive mental illness in todays society. The report
states that most people tend to have a negative stigma attached to someone that has been
diagnosed with a mental illness based on their preconceived notions of what a mental illness is,
but it also suggests that more people are becoming open to learning more about mental illness
and what they need to do in order to efficiently support someone who has been diagnosed with a
mental illness. According to the report given by the CDC, Attitudes and beliefs about mental
illness are shaped by personal knowledge about mental illness, knowing and interacting with
someone living with mental illness, cultural stereotypes about mental illness, media stories, and
familiarity with institutional practices and past restrictions. And that When such attitudes and
beliefs are expressed positively, they can result in supportive and inclusive behaviors. Overall,
the report suggests that people make assumptions about what life is like for someone who has a
mental illness based off of what they currently know about mental illnesses in general, but more
and more people are starting to have the desire to more learn about mental illnesses. More people
want to know more about how mental illnesses are diagnosed, how the mental illness could

affect someones day to day life, and how to support someone who has been diagnosed with a
mental illness.

Personal Response:
When reading the report, I can agree that more and more people are wanting to know more about
mental illness, including myself. I have personally experienced how a mental illness could affect
someones day to day life, and it only makes me want to know more about how I could help
others who may have experienced what I have experienced. Before reading the report, I still had
the same position that I have now, but I do feel like now I could strengthen my argument when
discussing why I chose this position when it comes to this particular topic. I feel like this report
is convincing and I will use it in order to discuss people becoming more open to the idea of
learning about mental illness, and changing their perceptions of someone who has been
diagnosed with a mental illness.