The issue of mental health is not often a high priority on political agendas. Yet individuals with mental illnesses suffer every day from the stigma they face from being labeled “mentally ill”. Stigma, in terms of mental health, is defined as “the threats of diminished self-esteem and of public identification when labeled ‘mentally ill’” (Corrigan, 2004, p. 614). The article “How Stigma Interferes with Mental Health Care” seeks to discover why the stigma that people with mental illnesses face causes these individuals to not take advantage of mental health services and/or treatments. This is an important issue that needs more attention because even though there are plenty of evidence based psychological treatments and interventions, only thirty …show more content…
As the article says “structural stigma develops…can be centuries long rather than the few years…” (Corrigan, 2004, p. 621). Our perceptions towards people who are diagnosed as depressed, bipolar, alcoholics, schizophrenics, etc. tend to be that of pity or disgust- the “mental illness” the individual is conflicted with is simply an excuse for situations or problems they do not want to deal with. This clearly needs to be changed, but the reason behind these ignorant beliefs is often due to lack of exposure or knowledge of these types of mental illnesses. By the time we graduate from high school, I feel as though we have been well educated on many physical illnesses. With diagnoses of mental illnesses rising, I believe students should be educated on mental illnesses, alongside physical illnesses, and with the same amount of detail. Without education on specific mental illnesses, it is nearly impossible for someone to understand the effects that illness can have on an individual’s functionality and the level of distress they are attempting to deal with. As someone who was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as an eight year old child, I found it much too embarrassing to tell my other third grade friends that I was going to therapy weekly, because I was afraid they would think of me as strange (if only they knew what my “compulsions” were like- then they would definitely think I was crazy!). But since I was only in the third grade, it is not expected that my peers would understand what was going on. However, by the time one reaches high school graduation, they have a fair share of experience and knowledge of people they associate with, and often know some people with mental illnesses. It is not uncommon for high schoolers to have knowledge about the etiology and symptoms of
For a very long time, mental health was a disease people would not dare speak about. The stigma associated with mental health meant that it was viewed as a curse or simply poor upbringing. Crazy, right? (Pardon the pun). Although it’s not seen as a curse by us in this generation any more, many people with mental health issues still have to face ignorance, prejudice and discrimination from our society just because of their lack of understanding or reluctance to try and understand. Be that as it may, these attitudes directly impact upon how and if people choose to seek help, making the negative and ignorant opinions and attitudes of others potentially dangerous to many individuals and the people around them.
The stigma and negative associations that go with mental illness have been around as long as mental illness itself has been recognized. As society has advanced, little changes have been made to the deep-rooted ideas that go along with psychological disorders. It is clearly seen throughout history that people with mental illness are discriminated against, cast out of society, and deemed “damaged”. They are unable to escape the stigma that goes along with their illness, and are often left to defend themselves in a world that is not accepting of differences in people. Society needs to realize what it is doing, and how it is affecting these people who are affected with mental illness. If we continue to not help them, and to foster their illness, it will only get worse.
This stereotype contributes to the stigma individuals’ face and encourages social exclusion and intolerance, especially in schizophrenia (Ray & Brooks Dollar, 2014). Ken sought out help and went to the emergency room because he recognized he was severely depressed. There, the doctor promised he would not be put in restraints, yet when he was taken to the hospital, he was placed in restraints because it was company policy (Steele & Berman, 2001). Due the stigma that individuals with mental illness are violent, Ken was not treated fairly (Stuart & Arboleda-Florez, 2012). Stuart and Arboleda-Florez (2012) are very credible authors to be writing on the effects of stigma in mental health. Both authors have experience in psychiatry, combatting stigma and mental health issues.
Both Meg and Jim explained that when growing up, mental illness was something that was never talked about in their schools. As a result, children then and now act negatively towards the concept of mental health. Meg shared an example from her life where this was especially apparent. She explained that growing up she had a lot of friends. However, once her illness grew increasingly worse during her senior year of high school, she noticed that her friend group dwindled dramatically. Her friends did not understand what she was going through. They would tell her that they did not like to spend time with her because ‘she sucked the fun out of everything.’ At this point in time, Meg was having a very hard time with her mental illness and the loss of her friends seemed to be a tipping point for her. It pushed her further into her sad state where she started using self-harm as a way to cope. Knowledge pertaining to mental health is extremely important. Research shows that “most children around five years of age have knowledge of stereotypes related to mental illness, and report that they personally believe them. Negative attitudes towards mental illness observed tend to be consolidated during adulthood (Campos, Palha, Dias, Lima, Veiga, Costa & Duarte, 2012, p.259-260).” Stereotypes resulting in stigmas are learned at a young age. It is critical that kids start learning the
The discussion of mental health is slowly being brought to the social surface to create a more inclusive society for those dealing with a mental illness. However, those with a mental illness are continuously being affected by stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination by those who simply don’t comprehend the complexity of the human brain (Glaser, G.2017). As more people become mental health activist, they are exposing the plethora of issues surrounding the overall mental and physical stability of those who are negatively affected by the social construct of what it means to be normal.
In today’s society, the stigma around mental health has caused many people to fear seeking medical treatment for problems they are dealing with. With an abundance of hateful outlooks and stereotypical labels such as: crazy, psycho, and dangerous, it is clear that people with a mental illness have a genuine reason to avoid pursuing medical treatments. Along with mental health stigma, psychiatric facilities that patients with a mental health issue attend in order to receive treatment obtain an excessive amount of unfavorable stereotypes.
“I was feeling really depressed yesterday.” “She looks so anorexic.” “I’m really OCD about my room.” “My boyfriend is acting so bipolar.” We all hear variations of these sentences daily and may even use them ourselves. Although it is not intended to cause harm to anyone, mental illness should not be phrased as adjectives. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) says that one in five Americans has a mental illness but those seeking help are not taken as seriously as they would be if they were exhibiting a physical health problem. According to the NHS Human Services, “92 percent of people with physical health problems receive the treatment they need, but by comparison, only 26 percent of people with mental
Rusch, et al. "Mental Illness Stigma: Concepts, Consequences, And Initiatives To Reduce Stigma." European Psychiatry 20-8 (2005): 529-539. Print.
The mental health stigma has become a prevalent issue in the world of medical care. It can prevent people from receiving proper medical care and the quality of care people may receive. Stigma is defined as members of groups who violate the norms established by the dominant or privileged group and, as such, are marked as deviant (Jr. and Kite). Stigma can also lead to discrimination. The way we can try and diminish the severity of the stigma is to create transparency and openness about mental illness. Seeing that people are not defined by their disorder and can be successful regardless of the diagnosis. That they are not defined by their diagnosis they just have and suffer with the disorder. Also promoting education about mental health issues can diminish the myths about these issues thus lessening the amount of stigma. I have seen instances on our own campus in which they could have promoted counseling and mental health among the student body. I think the staff body could have took a more proactive approach to mental health. Instead of waiting until after students committed suicide and trying to fix the problem they could actively be promoting it regardless of the instances on the university campus. There are two different types of stigma; public and self-stigma. These stigmas can have different effects on the individual. Everyone has mental health and raising awareness about it and eliminating the stigma can help the world learn how to discuss and change this problem.
Stereotypes and stigmas promote a dangerous, single-minded perspective. These incomplete or half-truths are often far more duplicitous than lies, as they are more difficult to detect. When these perspectives remain unchecked, they can result in far-reaching, adverse consequences. It is the individual’s duty to refuse to perpetuate this single story perspective. Due to misinformation presented by the media, the stigma surrounding mental illness has created a discriminatory single story perspective; however, through honest and open dialogue, particularly with those suffering from these diseases, these stereotypes can be abolished.
Mental Health Crisis Stigmatization of mental health and suicide is a major problem which affects patients and their caregivers around the world. The stigma leads to negative behavior and stereotyping towards the person with mental illness. This causes the person affected by this to fell rejection and to feel shame about their condition. All the stigma leads to underreporting, and data collection methods that is critical to suicide prevention that needs to be improved.
Why is there a cloud of judgment and misunderstanding still surrounding the subject? People with a mental disorder or with a history of mental health issues are continually ostracized by society. This results in it being more difficult than it already is for the mentally ill to admit their symptoms to others and to seek treatment. To towards understanding mental illness is to finally lift the stigma, and to finally let sufferers feel safe and accepted within today’s society. There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed.
The stigma is created by the lack of knowledge, narrow-minded attitudes, and the acts of judgment against people who have a mental illness. The stigma results in extensive consequences for the individuals being affected. The stigma ends up becoming worse than the mental illness itself because it prevents individuals from seeking help during the early stages of the mental illness. There is even a vast availability of mental-health treatments that are effective, yet the majority of people experiencing problems related to mental-health does not seek help. 28% of the adult population of the United States have a diagnosable mental condition and only 8% seek treatment. These statistics help prove that stigma is one of the main reasons for individuals not willing to seek help. The individual fears being stigmatized. They fear being rejected by their loved ones and the general public. They do not want to be devalued. The way that individuals with mental illnesses are called “the mentally ill” in the media just makes the stigma even worse. This makes the person feel defined solely by their disability, which is inhumane. The person begins to feel less of a human being. In the media, they are viewed as being dangerous and violent, which results with inhumanity towards the individual. This just increases the negative stereotypes towards individuals with a mental
If there are 40 students in the classroom, at least two of them could be living with serious mental illness. Although mental illness is something that is familiar to us, there is still misunderstood and stigma towards mental illness. Then why do many people still have wrong knowledge and attitude toward mental illness? There are many sources of the stigma, but one of the main sources is people’s ignorance toward mental illness.
Mass media “references to people with mental health problems found more than four in ten articles in the press used derogatory terms about mental health and nearly half of press coverage related mental illness to violence and crime” (Esseler, 244). This is causing for people to look down upon the mention of mental illnesses and many times ignore the importance of confronting this issue. Therefore the importance of removing this stigmatization is crucial. Education allows to make more informed decisions and then changing the perception of mental illness can lead towards policy changes toward the improvement of mental health (Sakellari,