Mental Health Awareness Weeks Aims to Improve Dignity in Mental Health

Bermuda Hospitals Board today launched Mental Health Awareness Week with the Acting Minister for Health, the Hon. Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, JP MP at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute (MWI).

Minister Gordon-Pamplin said: “Dignity is everyday. It is in how we interact. Our willingness to be open and listen, rather than judge or ignore. So for this 2015 Mental Health Awareness Week, I would ask people in the community to consider their own perceptions of mental health. Think about people you know. You truly may not know when you interact with someone who has a mental health consideration. But if you are aware of someone’s mental health status, or you suspect because someone seems ‘different’, don’t turn away, don’t write them off.
Treat them as you would want to be treated. One in four of us will suffer from a mental illness at some point. So that person, one day, could be you.”

Morrisa Rogers, Clinical Supervisor, Allied Health at MWI called on people in Bermuda to join the global movement to improve dignity in mental health: “We have talked the theme, Dignity in Mental Health today. We would like to ask the Bermuda Community to take action and join their voices to the global dignity in mental health movement.

“Every human interaction represents an opportunity for one person to treat another with dignity — a dignity encounter. Individuals and families affected by mental illness can often describe what dignity should look like. Sadly, however, most experience something wholly different. The stigmas of mental illness can no longer be tolerated. We can no longer be bystanders. We must do something.

“We therefore ask people in Bermuda to log onto the website worlddignityproject.com. Be educated and learn about the experience of those who have been through, or who live with, a mental illness. Please share and bring attention to the issue. Share your thoughts and experiences on the website, or through social media using the hashtags #MentalIllness, #BeAShelter or #WhatIsDignity. Give Bermuda a voice in the global movement, and raise attention of the issue here in our own community so we can eradicate stigma and recognise the human face of mental illness.”

Attachment 1: Acting Minister´s Speech

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