Mental Health Stigmas

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.

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

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

One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.

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

ts our study of the stigma related to mental health illness. There is a lack of research investigating the portrayal of psychologists, those affected by mental illness and issues of mental health; this lack of research prevents any interventions from being made to protect those at risk. “With the continued portrayals of therapy in the media, it is important to consider how these images may affect attitudes and beliefs that can contribute to help seeking behavior”. (Maier, et al., 2013, p.1). Although there is research supporting that psychological and medical treatment are effective for a broad range of mental illnesses, only around 11% of those who have a diagnosable issue will seek help (Corrigan, 2004). The researchers of this article were interested in how the media portrayal of psychologists and mental illnesses impacts those who should seek therapy, through the formation of stigma. The hypothesis of the article study is formed around the idea that turning to a professional for help is not viewed as a sign of weakness when the psychologists are viewed as trustworthy and have experience.

In the past, extensive research has been documented on the relationship between mental illness and stigma. Decades of research have also been done on stereotypes of men and women. However, studies done on mental illness and stigma rarely have an emphasis on gender differences, which hugely contributes to the way stigma is perceived (Chandra & Minkovitz, 2006, p. 19). Mental illness stigma is a belief that individuals with mental illnesses are different; individuals dealing with mental illness are commonly labeled as weird, attention seeking, crazy, incompetent, and other negatively biased connotations. The attitude of stigma towards mental illness leads to discrimination and discouragement and is a barrier to living a life of full potential.

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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

Often times, when mental health issues are talked about, a stigma exists within that topic that dehumanizes people with mental health illnesses. As people are viewed in a negative stereotypical light, they are not always approached in a humane way because of the stigma that is attached to their illness. Additionally, people going through such situations, are not only their struggles/illnesses, they are more than that and it’s important that the entirety of what makes them human and whole is recognized. Furthermore, although some illnesses like depression/suicidal thoughts and behavior can be seen as internal, external factors influence such thoughts to form in the first place. What people experience in life at any age, leaves a mark on them

According to the National Alliance of Mental Health, 1 in 5 adults in the United States of America experience mental illness in a given year (NAMI, 2017). Out of those adults, not all will seek out mental health services. If there are services in the community being offered, why are the services not utilized more often by these individuals? There may be many barriers that prevent these individual to seek out services. One of these barriers may include being labeled; another barrier may be being treating differently because of the illness. To fully understand what a mental illness is one has to understand the definition of

(Hook) Imagine your future child. You want them to be happy and healthy right? Every parent does. Not counting those few crazy ones. So your child is now a teenager, and for a week straight they couldn’t get out of bed. They don’t have a physical illness or virus. This isn’t a case of the flu or mono. Your child is diagnosed with a mental illness and every few months they are succumbed to the deep depth of sadness. They stop taking their medicine, because they are embarrassed by their disease, because everyday at school, they are bombarded by people who don’t understand what they are going through and think they are making it up. They don’t want you to have to deal with this illness and the stigma surrounding it, so they lock it away and you

It is estimated that 43.5 million Americans, adults 18 or older, live with mental illness. This number represents 18.1% of all U.S. adults (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014). Stigma toward those who are seen as different have existed for as long as civilization itself, with the stigma for mental illness being one of the most prominent and long lasting that society has had to face throughout its ages (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012). Increased understanding and awareness for those individuals suffering from mental illness is necessary for us to overcome the impacts stigma has on our society.

There are many types of discrimination and stigma around mental health. So damaging, it impacts 63% of individuals living with mental illness alone. Social stigma holds people for believing they can live a fulfilled existence in spite of diagnosis and symptoms of mental illness. The number of studies showing what it’s called “diagnostic overshadowing” that is, over attributing a patient’s symptoms of a particular condition, in many cases, it means the medical morbidity of being undiagnosed and untreated is rising. This trend presents alarming numbers, making us, the sufferers, sicker and self-conscious of our own efforts to live a “normal life”. I have experienced stigma in its many forms: social, perceived, and self-stigma. But I was