Do you agree with my classmate discussion question below.

1 Classmate Question: What can be done to help others overcome the stigma of mental illness and improve access to psychological treatment?

Talking to them and getting them to understand that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and can be treated. A close friend of mine was having a hard time coping with their mental illness and getting help for it. After talking, crying, and talking some more (I did not realize my friend was suffering because he was hiding it so well) I volunteered to go with him to seek help. I followed him to his primary doctor, to a specialist, and then eventually to see a psychiatrist. I went to every appointment for a year and to this day I still follow him to at least two appointments a month. I believe for some talking about it with someone they confide in will not only save them but will help them get through rough periods as well.

Although ultimate responsibility lies with the person living with the illness, you can play an active role in your friend or loved ones treatment. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals are increasingly recommending couple- and family-based treatment programs. Families and friends can be important advocates to help loved ones get through those hard, early stages of having a mental illness. They can help their loved ones find out what treatment is best for them. They can also be key in letting professionals know whats going on, filling in parts of the picture that the person whos ill may not be well enough to describe on their own. This might also include helping a partner adhere to a treatment plan developed with the therapist to control anxiety responses in situations when the therapist is not present (Brain & Behavior, 2019.

2 Classmate Question: Firstly, I think we need to normalize mental illness more in our mainstream media and in our communities. There is so much fear around mental illness, in part because what many of us see on television and in film is the worst case scenario, a person completely out of control or out of touch with reality behaving in socially unacceptable ways (think Criminal Minds or Law&Order etc). People suffering from a mental illness are portrayed as being crazy, incapable of rational thought, or a danger to society. This leaves those suffering and their families fearful of what people will think about them, and fearful of losing their jobs and positions in the community (Abderholden, 2019). This fear can also mean people with a mental illness will postpone or avoid altogether seeking the psychological or psychiatric treatment they need. I think that it is important that we see people living with mental illness and seeking treatment and managing their illness more in film and television. The more we realize that mental illness affects our friends, family, neighbors, coworkers etc. the more we can begin to accept it as an illness of the mind, similar to the way we consider illnesses of the body. When we remove the shame and fear of letting people around us know about our mental illness, there is more motivation for those affected to seek treatment (Greenstein, 2017). I think that removing the stigma attached to mental illness goes hand in hand with improving the access people have to psychological treatment. Once people are no longer afraid to say they suffer from mental illness, they are able to more freely seek treatment and once the stigma is gone, it will be easier for more funding to be allocated for mental health treatment.

3 Classmate Question: What do you think about the use of private security guards for private residences/ communities?

Can you please write your respond in a paragraph of a 100 words.