About the stigma of the mental illness and the addictions

Misinformation and misrepresentation of facts frequently overlaps in Psychiatry, in addition to the erratic vision of the complex issues it handles. In large part, this occurs with the help and participation of the technical process, which is often not considered as an educational matter for patients and their families, permitting the persistence of doubts, reflections and inadequate conclusions regarding professional procedures. The professional activity must consider, health education for patients with as a benchmark that would guide to the handling of some of their health problems, the healthy functioning of their body in order to help to reach a good care of the social health of the community. The word vice and its moral connotations, having already permeated social education on health, is threatening and requires prompt and forced solution to avoid that the patient mentally ill and/or abuser addicted be considered as a bad person and no longer a patient: it is then a vicious person, not worthy of respect and attention, but worthy of punishment. In parallel, the underlying resistance becomes now the best condition, justifying the fears and apprehensions on behalf of a rational defense.