Grade 11 Healthy Active Living Education Additional Supports ...

Positive Mental Health and Stress
Public Profile
Unit #3 Activity #4
Teaching Learning Strategy #4
Teacher Resource (Answer Sheet)
Myth or Fact
Catholic Profile
Unit #5 Activity #2
Teaching Learning Strategy #3
1. You can always tell when someone is experiencing a mental illness.
MYTH: Not all people who look or act differently are mentally ill. Some people who
exhibit eccentric behaviour and mannerisms do so as a matter of choice and not because
of mental illness.
2. People with mental illnesses are to blame for their condition.
MYTH: A mental illness is not a character flaw, it is a disease. Mental illnesses can affect
people from all walks of life. Having a mental illness has nothing to do with being weak
or lacking will power. People do not choose to be mentally ill, nor are they being lazy for
not snapping out of it.
3. Mental illnesses are long-term illnesses.
MYTH: mental illnesses are not necessarily long-term. It is possible for an episode of
illness to last just one or two months out of an entire lifetime. In fact, the average stay in
the hospital for 97% of psychiatric patients is 33 days. Furthermore, while a person may
have several episodes of mental illness in their lifetime they may have long periods of
healthy living in between.
4. People with mental illness are more violent than other people.
MYTH: Violence is not a characteristic of mental illness. Mental illnesses are usually
quite devastating and embarrassing to people. As a result, people with mental illnesses
tend to be anxious and timid and are more likely to withdraw than attack.
5. Mental illness can be associated with low intelligence.
MYTH: On the contrary, people with mental illnesses may be as intelligent as anyone
else. If anything, studies suggest that most people with mental illnesses have an average
or above average IQ.
For more information, see list of resources on page 886 and 87.
Grade 11 Healthy Active Living Education (PPL30), Module #2 Positive Mental Health and Stress
Page 63