Mental Health Care Stigma

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

Stigma is a destructive shadow which follows mental health, inevitably impacting on the process of recovery. In Australia, statistics show that one in five individuals experience mental illness, of those 74% (SANE Australia,2013) reported being affected by stigma. With such statistics, it is crucial to understand the recovery process in mental health and the extent to which stigma influences on this process.

The disparity in treatment has been attempted to be remedied over the eras. Bills and Acts put into place in the 20th and 21st centuries have seeked to improve care and reduce stigma around those with mental illness. This began in 1942, when Harry Truman signed the National Mental Health Act, which requested the formation of a National Institute of Mental Health. Shortly after this, in 1949, the National Institute of Mental Health was established (“National Institute of Mental Health”). During the company’s 60 year lifespan they have focused on research about mental illness, educating the public, and improving the lives of the mentally ill by working to pass laws. One law that seeks to reduce the stigma of mental illness is the Mental Healths Service Act of California. "California 's Historic Effort To Reduce The Stigma Of Mental Illness: The Mental Health Services Act" from the American Journal Of Public Health illustrates how the Act will make improvements. Families and individuals who have experienced stigma had a big role in the process, specifically with developing a 10 year plan, the California Strategic Plan on Reducing Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination. One component of the Act discussed is the work plan developed by California Mental Health Services Authority, which has three components: stigma and discrimination reduction, student mental health, and suicide prevention. Organizations such as the NIMH have made efforts resulting in the evolution of mental

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

As nurses, it extremely important for us to have an understanding of mental health so we can decrease the stigma in the healthcare profession. There shouldn’t be a difference between a “psychiatric nurse” and a “general nurse”. Since over 50% of the population suffers from a mental illness, both professions should be equally educated and sensitive towards health care issues.

One of the most difficult aspects of treating patients who suffer from trichotillomania (TTM), commonly called hair pulling disorder, is that most prefer to remain invisible. They are creative at finding ways to hide their illness. Most cover up with head scarves, hats, hoodies, and carry on as if nothing is wrong.Treatment for TTM is accessible through the NHS, yet the stigma of receiving therapy for mental illness is still strong enough to keep many patients with TTM away from psychologists, even when they have suffered significant hair loss. The key to eliminating this stigma is education and transparency. In order to better understanding of this impulse disorder, it is important to look closely at the causes, symptoms, and behaviors. Once these are understood, working with a psychologist to plan effective treatment becomes as easy as walking into their practice. Here are the basics about trichotillomania, and how a psychologist can help with finding the right treatment.

Your topic is very interesting, but need more development to help readers who are not familiar to that field to understand it.

A stigma associated with this mental health policy is people with mental illness are more violent. This is true if all mental ill people go off treatment to help them from being psychotic, hospitalized, or violent. But according to The Mental Health Policy Organization, only five percent of people with the most serious mental illness of schizophrenia and treatment resistant bipolar disorder are violent making this myth false (MHPO, 2015). This stigma has affected The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act HR3717. Due to this stigma it has created discrimination by unfounded facts between mental illness and violence. According to John Grohol, Psy.D ., HR3717 policy is really about helping the families of the mentally ill and how to help

I chose the article Removing the stigma of psychological care to write about for this assignment. When I saw this article, I was definitely intrigued. The article begins by stating that college can be a hard time in students’ lives. Some people do not receive the psychological care they need, because of the stigma that is associated with it.

When someone says they’re sick, people usually think the person has the flu or chickenpox. A neighbor or family friend might bring over some chicken soup to help cure their loved ones ailments, but another type of disease people are diagnosed yearly with, are mental illnesses. Mental illnesses are a huge stigma in America’s society. The Mental health stigma is caused by the lack of knowledge society has towards them. Depression is one mental illness that effects millions of Americans and puts a lot of stress on a the person diagnosed and their family. The stigma created by society about the illness causes many people feel like outcasts and not want to seek help. There are many factors that can lead to someone to be depressed such as abuse,

This stigmatization has the potential to negatively affect chronically ill individuals in every aspect of their lives. Nurses have the responsibility to assess themselves, increase their awareness of stigmatization, empower their patients, suggest coping strategies to their patients, educate the community, and lobby for policy changes. In the future, nurses should develop and implement educational material that can be taught at yearly staff meetings in health care agencies to reduce stigmatization perpetrated by health care providers and to promote daily self-assessments. This material should also be formulated to be taught in nursing schools, so future nurses can learn about the impacts of stigmatization before they graduate. Nursing students should also be taught the recovery model of mental illness to decrease the fear many students have when working with mentally ill patients.

Thank you for answering my question. I appreciate your thorough response. To answer your question: what would be the factors that could reduce this stigma and encourage the veterans to integrate good mental health?

Last fall, British television broadcast a reality program called “How Mad Are You?” The plot was simple: 10 volunteers lived together for a week in a house in the countryside and took part in a series of challenges. The amazing thing was that there were no prizes at the end of the challenges. There was a very interesting concept to the reality show. Five of the volunteers had a history of a serious mental illness, like obsessive compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder, and the other five volunteers did not have any mental illness. The challenges that were

According to save.org, 30,000 Americans commit suicide a year. In the United States, an average of 5,240 children in grades 7-12 attempt suicide every day (Jasonfoundation.com). Most of these kids exhibited clear signs of struggle and depression before their deaths/attempts. Implementing a psychology course in schools centered around dialectical behavioral therapy will lead to a decrease in adolescent suicide, and an increase in understanding the mind and its components.

Mental health issues have been an ongoing hot topic in this country for over a century. Though many strides have been made to increase awareness and lessen the stigma, there continues to be a barrier to mental health care, especially for our nations’ youth and young adults. I will be discussing the history behind mental health care, current policies regarding it, how the presence of stigma reduces the likelihood that youth and young adults are receiving the adequate mental health care they require, how mental health awareness decreases these stigma, and how policy changes can lead to overall acceptance and mental health treatment of youth.