Positive reporting

"64% of journalists believe that coverage of mental health could be improved"

- Mental Health Media

 

This section contains information for journalists who are writing about mental health and related issues. We hope that the information here will help you present a more complete picture of mental illness that does not stigmatise people.

 

Fiction:

• “Only weak people have mental health problems.”
  What about Winston Churchill, Alistair Campbell, Annie Lennox, Frank Bruno, Ruby Wax, Stephen Fry, Paul Merton (the list goes on) who have all experienced mental health problems.



• “Mental health problems are for life"
  Not true. While some people may experience problems over a long period, very many people may experience a single episode of illness. This is as true of schizophrenia as it is of depression. People can and do recover from mental health problems.



• “People with mental health problems are violent.”
  High profile and sensationalist media reporting feeds this myth but the sad truth is that people with mental health problems are more likely to hurt themselves than anyone else.



• “People with mental health problems are weird and different.”
  Well, one in six people will be experiencing a mental health problem at any one time - that’s a lot of weird people! In fact, one quarter of the world’s population will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life. If it were you, how would you like to be treated?
  

 

Fact:

1. At any particular time, one in six people will be experiencing mental health problems of varying severity.



2. That means that even if you haven't experienced a mental health condition yourself, you almost certainly know someone who has.



3. The majority of adults (60-70%) will at some time in their lives experience depression or worry of sufficient severity to influence and affect their daily activities.



4. It is estimated that more than half of those who attend their GP may have some symptoms of depression.



5. A person with a mental illness is far more likely to be a victim of violence than its perpetrator. Of 873 murders in 2002, fewer than 5% were attributable to mental illness.



6. Mental disorders are treatable and are as likley to respond favourably to treatment as many physical illnesses.



7. The stigma of mental illness can make it harder for people to seek help and more difficult for other people to help them.

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Mental Health Media

Helping to get across the real story about mental illness