A national campaign which aims to break down the stigma and myths surrounding mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, and to raise public awareness of the problems has been begun.
Advertisements on the sides of 200 buses throughout the State will feature a photo-like artwork showing a woman in a park standing at a fence looking in on a city and carrying the message: "Mental illness should not be faced alone". It will run throughout January and February.
The aim of the campaign is to increase awareness of the isolating effects of mental illness and the loneliness that it can involve. The campaign will also feature Schizophrenia Ireland's (SI) telephone helpline number to provide a source of information for those affected directly and indirectly by the illness.
The campaign was commissioned and funded by TDI, the outdoor advertising company, in collaboration with SI.
The administrator of SI, Ms Orla O'Neill, told The Irish Times that it hoped the campaign would get people to think about mental illness.
"The campaign is targeted at two groups, the general public and those who are either affected by the illness or their families. There is such a lot of misunderstanding about schizophrenia and there is still a stigma attached to it, not only to the person suffering from it but for the whole family," she said.
One in 100 people would have schizophrenia at some time. "There are so many myths about it and one of them is that the person would be violent. But it has been statistically proved that a person with schizophrenia is less likely to be violent than somebody from the general population," Ms O'Neill said.
Yesterday the campaign was introduced in Dublin by Prof Anthony Clare, Medical Director of St Patrick's Hospital, Dublin, and presenter of In The Psychiatrist's Chair on Radio 4, and Ms Carrie Crowley, of RTE television's Pulse programme.
SI said that schizophrenia was recognised as the most serious mental illness and affected 35,000 Irish people at some point in their lives. It affected 1 per cent of the population worldwide.
The onset of the illness was usually between the ages of 18 and 25, at a time when young people were starting out in careers and beginning relationships. Prof Clare said there was still a considerable degree of shame about mental illness, and the tendency was to keep it hidden. This was relevant to all forms of mental illness from depression to schizophrenia.
"An awareness advertising campaign such as this will promote better understanding and encourage better services for people who are mentally ill, their families and friends," he said.
Ms Crowley commented: "If someone has a broken arm it is easy to sympathise and enter into dialogue about their illness, but people shy away from discussing mental illness."
SI represents the interests of people with schizophrenia and their carers. It provides a variety of services including information, parallel mutual self-help groups for people with schizophrenia and their carers, a counselling service in Dublin and Cork, family support courses, awareness-raising activity, advocacy and employment training. It has an office in Dublin and will be opening its Cork office early in 1998.