Effects Of Mental Health Stigma On Seeking Treatment

The survey was available for a two-week period in April online and consisted of general demographic questions, as well as questions that asked about college standing and previous mental healthcare access. The second portion of the survey consisted of 21 statements that assessed self-stigma, friend stigma, peer stigma, and general stigma related to mental illness as well as questions that assessed how important the participant viewed their own mental health and the mental health of others. The statements in the second portion were all single-trait Likert scale questions from 1-7, with 1-3 indicating disagreement with the statement, 4 indicating indifference, and 5-7 indicating agreement. The statements consisted of questions such as “I would tell my boss I need to take a mental health day if I thought I needed it.” (an example of self-importance of mental health) and “I would believe a peer if they told me they couldn't finish an assignment because of a mental health issue.” (an example of peer stigma surrounding mental illness). There were also more general statements included such as “Mental health professionals can be helpful to people with mental health problems.” and “People make too big of a deal about mental illness.” that were intended to assess a more global instance of the mental health stigma. The statements in the

Stigma can be expressed in various term, it can be a brand, labelling or identification. It is a differentiation of a person resulting to a boundary between “us” and “them” (Link and Phelan 2001). These affect consumers in a way they are discriminated and treated differently because they have mental illness. The effect of stigma can take away the rights of consumers who are suffering from mental illness causing social dilemmas (SANE Australia 2013). A survey shows 74% of consumers experience stigma from school, work, and social activities. Consumers had only one feedback, to reduce stigma so they can go with their life peacefully and engage in normal social activities without discrimination (SANE Australia 2006). It is

7. Lt Col Chris Karns, "Eliminating Stigma: A Leadership Responsibility," U.S. Air Force, 02 September 2014,

Misinformation and misperception about mental illness can lead to the stigmatization of ourselves, our parents, our children, our spouses and others that we care about. The consequences of stigma range from social isolation to poverty to barriers to quality treatment and care. Stigma perpetrated on a grand scale can result in a system that reinforces the idea that people diagnosed with mental illnesses are unimportant and therefore are unworthy of access to quality and affordable care. Some media outlets (films and television) serve to perpetuate negative stereotypes and reinforce stigma. Although relatively few people with mental illness act out in

While stigma may not necessarily be a cause of a person’s mental disorder, it can certainly contribute to the complication and perpetuation of their illness. The effect of stigma goes well beyond just the patient and provides a commentary on society’s overall level of intolerance of those who are considered different from the majority. By recognizing the level of stigma that exists, perhaps we can alter that behavior and gravitate towards a more productive attitude towards mental illness.

Within the past two decades there’s been a revival in efforts to reduce stigmatization attached to mental illnesses. It was concluded that if mental illnesses were perceived better as ‘real’ diseases by the public that stigma would go down greatly. Reports proposed the idea that better scientific understanding of mental illnesses by the general public could greatly reduce stigma. Stigma is intensely rooted in social and cultural norms it’s patterns devalue and dehumanize groups of individuals within society (in this case mentally ill people). Stigma constructs barriers for individuals, barriers that limit a person’s abilities to have equal opportunities for employment, safe housing, health care and social relationships.Efforts to reduce stigma in recent years have

Mental health can be seen to be surrounded by prejudice, ignorance and discrimination. (Time to Change, 2016) In this essay, the visualisation will be identified and its meaning to this student will be discussed. The visualisation issue being explored is related to the stigma surrounding mental health. The visualisation itself was a jar with a sticker attached stating, ‘label jars … not people.’ This issue is really interesting and enlightening. It opens your eyes to what is really happening to individuals who have a mental health illness. Understanding why the public and the media have this stigma towards people with mental health problems and the theories in place can help to identify the effects on people. Services, strategies of care and

As a practicing Certified Nursing Assistant (C.N.A) for almost ten years, I have encountered vast patient population. There are times where my assignment consist of just watching one patient for the whole 8-hour shift. The reports I tend to get from the previous shift is that patient is “crazy”, “handful” and “you are going to have a bad day”, it got me thinking of my upcoming shift, perhaps not going to be a good one. I have developed my own ways of caring for mentally ill population. As I have researched the internet I have found information regarding mental healthcare where in where it is stigmatized, and to stop this stigma in healthcare training must start early.

. In understanding and deeply studying the discrimination and prejudice that people suffering from mental illnesses have to experience, researchers have differentiated between public stigma and self stigma. Public stigma, in this context, represents the negative attitudes that the society directs at people with mental illnesses, whereas self stigma occurs when people suffering from psychiatric disabilities internalise the negative attitudes portrayed towards them by the public (Corrigan et. al., 2012).

This article was prompted by a five year campaign to decrease of stigma towards mental illness. It aims to measure and reveal the evidence of stigmatizing behaviour of British people regarding seven mental disorders. The results of the research paper are intended to be employed in intervention campaigns to change the misconceptions and to confirm that it is a slow process to change stigmatizing opinions. Stigmatization is not a recent phenomenon, previous researches show its widespread occurrence. Goffman (1961) reported between mental institution staff and patients no respect and conceptualization of adverse hostility, Brockington, Hall and Levings (1993) confirmed that people 's attitude towards mental illness are characterised by sympathy, benevolence and fear. Researches by Bordieri and Drehmer, (1986), Whal (1999) found evidence that stigmatization affects employment and renting housing (Page, 1995; Whal, 1999). Corrigan (2012) notes that stigma deprives people with mental illness from proper schooling and healthcare. The term of stigma refers to disgrace and discredit (Byrne, 2000) and includes two levels, public stigma and self-stigma (Corrigan & Watson, 2002). Goffman, (1963) furthermore coined the term courtesy stigma which occurs when relatives experience stigma by association. However one weakness of the subject article is that it addresses public stigma only. The paper has no hypothesis specified, hence it is an exploratory study. The authors attempted to

It was very difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that he had committed suicide. He was a prominent actor and comedian in my childhood and into my adolescence. I had always viewed Robin Williams in a positive light due to his happy and comical demeanor. However, once I came to terms with his death, I concluded that mental health does not discriminate. It does not matter how happy a person may seem or what their job is, everybody is at risk to develop a mental health problem. Unfortunately, there are some people who do not see any light at the end of the tunnel and turn to suicide to solve the

Notwithstanding, considering the possible reasoning for unenthusiastic behavior of seeking mental health treatment, several explanations can be hypothesized. The first and foremost concept is stigma. In accordance with Corrigan and Penn (1999), they defined the term stigma as unfounded and negative attitude concerning a person that subsequently leads to solidifying undesirable stereotype and prejudice. Furthermore, Corrigan and Watson (2002) stated in their article that there were two types of stigma. The first type of stigma is described as a reaction of the public that is aimed toward the individual, and the authors called it “public stigma”. The second type of stigma described as “self-stigma” is a characteristic of an individual who internalizes the public reaction and their erroneous belief (Corrigan & Watson, 2002).

As a member of college society, what are you doing to prevent mental health stigma? We live in the world where it is a great deal to be accepted by others and get approved, and college is the place where most students rush to get this acceptance. It is a beginning of independence and new experiences for students. Most students leave their house and start the first step of building a whole new future; no parents are there to tell them what is right and what is wrong, what should be done and when it should be done. Students start to become responsible and make better decisions for themselves. This change in part of life comes along with a lot of negative consequences. Like educational stress, part-time jobs, and additional accountability and responsibility of students in making decisions what the society believes is the best. These relatively new changes in life cause a lot of students to suffer mental illnesses such as depressions, anxieties, different disorders, and stresses. Even though having a mental illness is a big problem for college students the stigma they experience from the college community causes a big psychological and physical damage, directly and indirectly. Directly it affects their social interactions and involvement in the community, and indirectly it affects their self-esteem. While we expect stigma to be less among the educated and young generation, it turns out that mental health stigma is more common and frequent among

Mental Illness is a universal health issue which causes mass amounts of suffering amongst the general population. It can become a majorly debilitating when subjected to a psychiatric illness, however, this is not entirely due to the undesirable symptoms from the conditions themselves but also the stigma that’s inherently linked to the label of being “mentally ill”. The negatively stigmatized views cause shame, ostracism, and marginalization among the mentally ill and some even describe the consequences of stigma as being worse than the condition its self (The, 2016). Because of this, those in need of help often refrain from seeking treatment in order to avoid being diagnosed and becoming susceptible to the stigma associated with the label. It’s estimated that in any given year 30% of the global population will be affected by a mental health disorder and two-thirds of these people will not seek the care that they require (Ngui, Khasakhala, Ndetei & Roberts, 2010). Stigma has been shown to be a clear barrier that is partly responsible for this lack of help-seeking behavior (Wrigley, Jackson, Judd & Komiti, 2005). Therefore, health organizations need to look at anti-stigma programs that break down these barriers that restrict the mentally ill from seeking treatment.

Mann C.E. and Himelein M.J. 2004. Factors associated with stigmatization of persons with mental illness. Psychiatric Services 55 (2), pp. 185-187.