Negative Effects Of Stigma

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Stigma can be a major issue for those with mental illness. It can come from many different people in their lives, from family to complete strangers. So along with their own issues dealing with symptoms and regaining control of their life back, they also can have a negative influence related to their worth from stigma that can hinder them. Recovery in mental illness is ongoing and develops as the person matures, hopefully progressing in their ability to function better in society (Markowitz, Angell, & Greenberg, 2011). Stigma logically has an influence on self-worth and self-esteem for any group of people. Stigma if a large enough influence can make an individual diagnosed with a mental illness view themselves as tainted or less than before …show more content…

A person that internalizes it can experience a loss of socioeconomic status, restricted social networks, lowered self-esteem, and lower quality of life (Markowitz, Angell, & Greenberg, 2011). This is because those that believe that their illness makes them more dangerous and believe they may not be in control become so focused on the illness they are not trying to have some parts of their lives back to normal. This is better illustrated by Labeling theory that states people performs roles in society and the responses they get from others in these roles helps them form a concept of themselves and how they are viewed by others. Those with a diagnosis may be cast into the role of mentally ill by family or society and the negative influences they get from that role can affect how they see themselves in any role. This can cause those with mental illness to stop seeking out social roles, because they feel they may not meet others expectations. They often will then fill roles that they are socialized are normal for them as depressed or delinquent. This was another issue our interviewee discussed when she said sometimes her loved ones would continue to view her as depressed even when she was no longer in a dark place(B. Pollock, personal communication, March 17, …show more content…

This is an area where advocacy and empowerment are essential, especially if a client feels less than able to go deal with major systems in society alone. It is also an area where a client may be coming to use for many different reasons and we should look further than just a diagnosis. It is also a field as we discussed in class that is not always culturally competent. Many other cultures can show signs for mental illness when in reality it is their way of functioning in that group. This is major reason practitioners should ask clients about their backgrounds and questions about their behavior if they are unfamiliar before placing

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