This book is part of a series of books comprising the political history of the province of Alberta, Canada within the 19th & 20th Century's. The Mardon's research has resulted in 36 other titles that have been published since 1971. This book is one of the last to be published in this series. Dr Ernest George Mardon was one of the founding faculty at the University of Lethbridge. Austin Mardon is a Member of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, & a Knight Commander of the Papsl order of St Sylvester.
Societal Conflict and the Stigma of People with Addiction delves into society's stance on those afflicted with addiction and how to provide help and support for people who suffer from it. The prevailing approach towards limiting addiction has been through inciting fear, sowing prejudice, and criminalizing individuals with it; labeling them as weak willed 'addicts'. This perception has served only to harm those who are in desperate need of rehabilitation and treatment by instead punishing and ostracizing them from their families and communities.
The Stigma and Societal Conflicts of People with Physical Disabilities examines society's perception of individuals with physical impairments, limitations in activities, and/or limited social participation and highlights the assumptions and marginalizing attitudes revolving around them. It shows how mental disorders can develop due to society's behaviour towards those with disabilities and how to properly respect and honour their fundamental human rights. Society must adopt a "temporarily able-bodied" attitude to deter stigma against individuals with disabilities and increase empathy to ultimately benefit all people.
This book outlines tools for building and maintaining relationships for and with people with mental illness by providing some insight and solutions to typical challenges. However, this book will not paraphrase the work of medical professionals, who accurately and scientifically assess mental illness. Instead, this book shows that people should care about mental illness because it is present in almost every single person's life in some shape or form. Part of caring for each other is facing interpersonal issues that can arise due to mental illness.
