Stigma And Discrimination

According to NAMI, The National Alliance of Mental Illness 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition yearly. 1 in 20 people live with a serious mental illness like, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Not only does the person who is directly experiencing a mental illness suffer, but the family, and friends are also highly affected. NAMI states that 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% of mental illnesses develop by age 24. Each year, 1 in 5 children from the ages 13-18 experiences a mental illness reported by NAMI. That’s a large amount of our young generation. Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma, a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart according to the

They are isolated from society, whether it is put in different classroom in school or by the media that slant society’s perspectives to believe that mental ill people can be violate. While some may become violate not everyone does or and can.

Individuals with a mental health illness tend to experience discrimination due to misinformation, assumptions and stereotyping. Many people in our society are not educated on the subject of mental illnesses and often have misconceptions about the conditions and what affects these pre conceived ideas can have on the individual suffering from the

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

The second case study that will be discussed is Dean Eastmond and how this will be relevant to the labelling theory and stigmatisation. Eastmond was 16 years-old at the time, invited his friend to his parent’s home to grab a quick lunch or to chat for an hour or so. However, Eastmond realised the friend he thought was friendly, became too distant. Unfortunately, Eastmond was raped and initially at the time, Eastmond was a closet homosexual. This was his first sexual experience and his virginity was taken. The perpetrator is anonymous and got away with the crime. Eastmond did not report his rape case, because he felt that victims are not taken seriously and he thought that he would ‘be viewed as a criminal’, and feared to be labelled as a homosexual (BBC and Kelsey, 2016).

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.

One in every seventeen people in America suffers from a mental disorder. These disorders inhibit the afflicted person from functioning properly and coping normally with daily life. Many afflicted with a psychological disorder do not exhibit obvious symptoms, as medical advancements have made it possible for these disorders to be suppressed or even nonexistent. Today, however, harsh stigmas exist that unfairly categorize those with a mental illness as violent, unfriendly, and abnormal. The media and federal government are culprits in fabricating the unrealistic depictions of mental disability that define the portrayal of those who are mentally or psychologically disadvantaged.

Mental health—and the stigma that comes along with it—is a very important issue, one of global importance. Shah and Beinecke explain that 450 to 500 million people suffer from mental illnesses (15). Just considering the amount of people who suffer from mental illness is enough to prove that this is a global issue. Despite the large amounts of people who are affected by mental illness, only one third of countries have some sort of program to help (15). This shows the lack of concern for those who suffer from mental illness. Stereotypes affect many people, and those with mental illness are no exception. Everyone has their own preconceived perspectives and notions of mental health, and many of them are uninformed and unjustified. It is up to us to start changing our viewpoints on mental health.

The USA is the land of opportunities. However some people do not want to use them, but

There are many stigmas, or misconceptions and misperceptions in our society which need to be shattered. I believe that one of the worse possible effects of stigma is that it causes those affected by psychological disorders, or mental illness, to crawl more deeply into themselves because it provokes a sense of shame. Stigma thrusts those suffering with mental illness into a sense of isolation, social exclusion, and discrimination. “Stigma can lead to discrimination … It may be obvious or direct … Or it may be unintentional or subtle…” (Staff). Stigma is often as big as the illness itself and I confess to having been a perpetuator of this dreaded thing, although not consciously aware and without the intent of furthering the harm of someone.

The cross sectional study was conducted to explore stigma and discrimination against PLHIV by healthcare providers in health care institution of Jimma zone, Southwest Ethiopia .the study reveals that the PLHIVs experienced discrimination from health care providers like unofficial disclosure of status and test results, designating HIV clients and unnecessary referral to other healthcare institutions and unethical treatment or refusal to treat clients. Further due to lack of in-depth HIV knowledge and direction about policies against stigma and discrimination among health care providers higher level of stigma discrimination associated with

Fortenberry et al.[165] carried out the research to examine the relationships between stigma and shame with two types of STD related care for HIV testing and gonorrhea. Their study reveals that decreased likelihood of being tested for HIV and gonorrhea due to the stigma associated with HIV and the findings are consistent with widely held assumptions about the role of stigma as a barrier to STD related care. Further stigma rather than shame is a barrier to seek STD related care and highlights the possible difficulties facing intervention strategy to improve STD related care

Stigma is when people have negative beliefs, views or attitudes about individuals that belong to a certain group. Often the result of stigma is discrimination such as excluding people with learning disabilities or mental health issues from experiences and activities that are open to other people.

Workplace contributes strongly to the wellbeing of an individual. This is because it provides people with opportunities that make the feel productive and achieve their potentials. However, stigma and prejudice can make the workplace to be a very stressful and results into unwanted problems such as anxiety and depression (Reichert, 2011). Therefore, this paper aims at discussing how to create a safe workplace for stigmatized individuals. The paper describes various approaches that can be implemented to make workplace safe and free from stigmatization.