Cedar City » Steve Barney begins the first day of abnormal psychology class telling his students how he wants to change the world by breaking down stigmas associated with mental disorders.

"The biggest stigma is that people with a mental disorder are dangerous," said Barney, the Southern Utah University Department of Psychology chairman. "But people get most of their information about mental disorders from mass media."

Barney said everything from news reports of a crime being linked to a suspect's mental health to movies with violent portrayals of someone with a mental disorder have formed society's opinions and kept people from doing research or meeting someone who has a disorder to dissolve preconceptions.

The professor said there is no clear line to say when one has such a disorder, or a good definition of "normal," but the distinction usually occurs if a behavior interferes with a societally defined normal life, such as going to school, being married or having a job.

Cedar City resident and SUU student Andrew Strother has been able to do all those things despite being diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 16 years old.

The 26 year old suspected he had bipolar disorder -- also known as manic-depression -- because his mother and grandmother were diagnosed with it and it more commonly occurs in relatives of those with the disorder.

Bipolar disorder causes abrupt, often high-intensity mood swings from extreme excitability to deep depression.

Strother started medication for it at 19 after his girlfriend at the time suggested it to help with his mood swings. He has continued the same regimen, switching medications at 22 after his body built immunity to the first type.

"My mom said she always knew I was bipolar but she didn't want to admit it," he said, sitting in his living room, his wedding photos adorning the walls. "I was perfectly comfortable with having a mental illness though, because my mom accepted it and it was part of my family."

Such acceptance is not always the case, however, and Barney said stigmas with mental disorders can cause denial in those who have one, as well as those close to them because of fear or false notions of the illnesses.

Strother has experienced this firsthand with two previous relationships in which both women were afraid he would take drastic action if he got upset.

"They both had people in their families with bipolar disorder, but they still thought I was crazy," he said.

A stigma Barney discussed, which a federal government campaign is working to dissolve, is thinking people with a mental disorder have a personality flaw or can prevent their condition.

A billboard in Salt Lake City as part of the government's anti-stigma campaign focuses on depression, and reads, "You wouldn't blame someone for having cancer."

"The problem has also become that these conditions define the person," Barney said. "So you have Joe the Schizophrenic or Pete the Bipolar -- I wouldn't like being called Steve the High Cholesterol Guy."

Labels for mental disorders, instead of seeing them as chronic illnesses that are clinically diagnosed and treated, could keep people from seeking help sooner, Barney said.

"Just think of how many words our language has for 'crazy,' " he said.

While working different jobs and going to school, Strother said he doesn't tell people he is bipolar, not because he is embarrassed about it, but because of wrong first impressions of him that he would rather avoid.

"When it came time to tell [my wife's] parents, they were apprehensive at first, but they researched it and took it seriously," he said. "People's perceptions can be broken down. Some say you need to not be a baby about your illness, some accept it and some are afraid of it."

He explained that when people would tell him to man up, or not believe that he needs medication, he would tell them he has tried and it doesn't work.

"I'd say, 'I'm trying, but the chemicals in my brain are making a ceiling,'" he said.

Barney said he and his class conducted a study on the SUU campus to determine what a test group thought caused a mental illness.

The study was based on a similar one done by a student, with the group questioned being from the southern Utah area.

"The student's results showed 33 percent of people said mental illness was caused by religiously sinful behavior," he said.

Thirty-eight percent of SUU students who participated in Barney's study said the same thing, but Barney added there is obvious proof against this assumption.

This thinking sometimes leads to the "Just World Phenomenon," which is that if you believe something caused the disorder, and avoid doing that same thing, you won't get the disorder, Barney said. "We know that doesn't work."

Strother gave an example of a person he came across while working at a local middle school who was crying.

He suggested the person talk to a counselor as a way to help any emotional instability, but the person denied needing professional help, saying he has a family and getting therapy was unacceptable.

Strother said he found talking to people, usually a neutral party or a stranger, helps him immensely because he doesn't stress about putting an added burden on people he loves and is able to ease his mind.

Like many illnesses, mental disorders have available treatments, from talking to therapists to different types of medications.

"I'm not cured -- I still have symptoms, but if I didn't take care of myself like I do, it would be a lot worse," Strother said, noting that his grandmother committed suicide and he has been told his illness will progress with age.

He majored in psychology and wrote his thesis on bipolar disorder, stemming from his experiences. His goal is to one day teach high school.

"What they need is compassion and human connection, just like people suffering from a different illness," Barney said of those with disorders. "The purpose of learning about it is to humanize those with such an illness."