Bucking the image of Mental illness

Around 18 percent of Americans suffer from a mental illness each year.

President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Paul Quinn, addressed the Noon Rotary Club of Zanesville Tuesday saying it’s an issue that more people may have but some are afraid to come forward with. He said there is still a very negative stigma associated with those who have a mental illness.

“We want to promote the idea that recovery from mental illness is possible if you seek treatment,” Quinn said. “There’s about an 80 percent success rate for those who seek treatment, but too many people don’t even seek treatment because of the stigma, and that prevents recovery.”

He stressed that recovery is possible. There just needs to be public awareness of the issue. He added that there’s a thin line between normal and crazy, saying that everyone has a thing.

“My thing is checking my keys a thousand times a day making sure it’s in my pocket,” Quinn said. “What if your thing is a brain chemistry imbalance and it takes you somewhere that’s not normally socially acceptable? Checking my keys is socially acceptable but if I start gesturing strangely, I’ll be ostracized.”