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Mental health stigma alive and well and on the airwaves
Posted Tuesday 19 January 2010
The news that Manchester radio DJ Steve Penk played the Van Halen song ‘Jump’ for motorists delayed by a road closure when a woman attempted to take her own life from a bridge, is a stark reminder of the distance we still have to go to tackle mental health discrimination.
Apparently the request for the song came from local motorists inconvenienced by the closures, which the Revolution DJ honoured moments before she jumped. Although he is in no way to blame for what happened, few people would argue that his actions weren't in incredibly poor taste.
He has since stood by his decision saying "I don't regret playing it for a minute" and that he empathised with the inconvenienced drivers. It is a sad state of affairs when as a society we start to view someone else’s tragedy as a personal inconvenience. Surely if the frustrated motorists stopped to think that this was a human life at stake, someone's daughter or friend, they would not be so flippant. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one to suicide will know how terrible the affects are for family and friends.
Over 100 people a week take their own life in the UK. The fear of stigma means that many people experiencing mental distress feel unable to speak to loved ones and as a consequence they suffer in silence. I only hope that the publicity surrounding this event might make the public question their own understanding of mental health issues. In the 21st century, is it too much to ask that we show compassion and understanding for people who are in the depths of despair?
Mind and the Samaritans will be complaining to Ofcom about the show, and we urge you to lodge your own complaint. Please include the following information about the programme:
Name of the show: Steve Penk at Breakfast
Radio station: 96.2FM Revolution Radio
Transmission date: Thursday 14 January 2010
Please note that the Ofcom site will not find any information for Revolution Radio. To make your complaint, just select "Continue" below the message that you get about this, and then on the next screen select "I saw/heard the programme".
Alison Kerry, Head of Media
17 Comments
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Hi,
I clicked on the link to register a complaint about this with OFCOM but their database didn't find The Revolution radio station at all. I am very keen to register my disgust and outrage at the behaviour of this radio station that surely must have some kind of civic responsibilities to the people and society it broadcasts to?
Regards, Simon.
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Hi Simon
You can still post your complaint - it just looks like you can't. Just select "Continue" below the message about not finding the Revolution station on the database, and then on the next screen select "I saw/heard the programme".
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Complaint made.
I only hope Mr Penk never loses a loved one to suicide - I'm sure it would be most inconvenient for him.
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I think that your third para says it all.
As for Steve 'Oh I am so smart' Penk if anyone is in his radio program zone please request some other Van Halen tunes:
And the cradle will rock
Fools
You're no good
and the list goes on.
OFCOM. Kick him off the airwaves. -
Im sure the loved ones of this poor woman really appreciate the support she had in making her final journey to deaths door!! Anyone who has never experienced this kind of loss should think twice before they comment.
Lets see: one person, 2 choices, LIVE or DIE, 'well if knowones gonna see the cry for help then im better off out of here'
What a sad way to go. And a patt on the back to all the ignorant motorists who managed to get home safely to their Husbands, Wives, Mothers and Children and have them to hold in their arms and feel safe and loved.
Well good luck peeps because the ones with no hearts no the saying 'What goes around comes around' when it does i hope you remember your requests on that sad day.
As for Steve Penk, Congratulations!! as you just managed to stick the knife in with pride to all those who have lost a loved one in this way. Im sure your Mother must be very proud of you!!! A Public appology would be nice, but then again.... do we really care for this mans words?? i dont think so -
The DJ has displayed his ignorance to mental health, it should be a statatory requirement for people employed by phone in radio programmes to have at least some mental health and mental health legislation training.
I feel this ignorant person should be dismissed from the radio station. -
Probably like many other readers of this blog I have been the person standing on the edge of the cliff wondering how I could make myself jump. Two things that were always factored in to my suicidal planning were who would find me and what would the effect be on them?
In this case I'm afraid that I don't agree with you. The DJ's actions have nothing to do with stigma - it's just not very good taste. Then again jumping in front of a lot of innocent civilians isn't very good taste either.
Complaining and whining won't help, it will just polarise people. Much better to try to use this as an opportunity to get some air-time to make people more aware of the issues rather than personalities. Of course I'm mentally ill so you may prefer to ignore my point of view.
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Gosh, what he did was terrible.
I'm not sure how much his actions directly relate to mental health stigma but it was a disgusting, ignorant and extremely inconsiderate decision to play that track.
However I do think complaints SHOULD be made. A message needs to go out that such poor taste is not acceptable.
To Gypsy Roadhog - I agree with some of your comments but in regards to "jumping in front of a lot of innocent civilians isn't very good taste either" it may be worth remembering - as you may have experienced yourself... when someone is unwell and about to make a suicide attempt they are quite often unable to think rationally or take in the account the range of consequences of their actions such as the effect on other people.
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R.I.P.AS FOR HIM I HEARD HIM PLAY THE MUSIC .HE HAS A LONG WAY TO GO IN LIFE REGRETTING PLAYING IT ,SACK HIM ,HE IS NOT SO WELL HIMSELF A FORM OF SADISISM IN HIS METHOD GOT RADIO GA GA HIMSELF .
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Agree with gypsy_roadhog in that this incident seems to me indicative of a lack of understanding within the general public, although incidents like this do contribute further to stigma. I think we should remember acts like this are often a (forgive cliche) "cry for help" hence may take place where many people will see. I have made a complaint to Ofcom because I feel this DJ and people in public arenas should be better educated and should not promote intolerant views; if an apology is brought about so much the better for public understanding. For me, this incident highlights the need (as if it needed highlighting) for campaigning to continue, so that awareness and understanding may be improved to everyone's benefit.
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This sort of behaviour is a display of sheer ignorance that people in society should really start to evolve from as its an extremly dated attitude to say the very least. Every individual has the capacity to suffer from mental distress and illness given the relevant circumstances, everybody is vulnerable and I don't doubt that if a loved one of his committed suicide, it would completly change his feelings towards such matters. I agree that his behaviour was sadistic and such behaviour indicates underlying and unresolved issues and a lack of emotional maturity.
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This is so wrong the media an mental health just don't get on.
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Get a grip. It was a song played on a radio station. If you lived in Manchester you'd realise what absolute mayhem this incident caused for well over several hours. If anyone is gonna jump from a motorway bridge at least try to avoid the rush hour!
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Before I was diagnosed with suffering from clinical depression following a suicide attempt, my dad was quite open about his view on individuals taking their own lives. He said they were the more selfish people and they thought about noone else but themselves . He said they didn't think about the people they were leaving behind to deal with their death. Since then, my dad and my mum have seen me go through some terrible and devastating times. Now my dad has the complete opposite view on people feeling so desperate that this is the only way they feel they can stop everything thats going on in their head. He has seen that it isn't the actions of a stable, clear thinking person but someone very much in need of help. Ignorance about mental health issues is potentially lethal. If someone is in such a state of mind as contemplating suicide, hearing someones opinion on how weak, selfish, pathetic etc is NOT going to help.
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Further to my previous post. Just because I question the way to protest about the DJ doesn't mean that I don't care about the individual involved. I know from experience that we don't behave rationally when unwell.
However, I think there is a common human reaction to deal with difficult and stressful situations by making jokes - often in very bad taste and sometimes quite funny. We may not like this but we should recognise this sort of defensive reaction for what it is.
Making complaints to Ofcom will just make the station close ranks. I still think that a better strategy would have been to use the incident to get some air-time on his station to educate both him and his listeners. Thanks for listening.
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There is now a Facebook group, called DJ Steve Penk, should be suspended/fired. I urge you to join.
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Stigma and insensitivity to mental health problems is everywhere. I was recently upset by a comment made in a comedy drama programme called 'Being Human.' Two characters in the show were having a discussion, one of the characters was a doctor and she makes a remark about a patient, describing her as: "creepy self-harm woman." To me that remark was like a slap across the face. You see, I've been struggling with depression and self harm for over 30 years. I guess the writers of that show thought the remark was funny, but not to me. I could not get those words out of my head. They made me cry. I thought, yeah, that's me, creepy self harm woman, that's how people see me. It really upset me. I couldn't help but wonder, what if some young girl or boy is watching this and they're struggling with self harm and all the felings that go with it, what must that definition have done to their already low self esteem. I do have a sense of humour, but I just could not see the humour or even the point of using that damning phrase. It went nowhere. It was a throwaway comment, but it might as well have been a stone, because it struck me hard and it hurt me.
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