The Use Of Stigmas On Mental Illnesses

Many cultural beliefs and values are held about mental illness and health in Americans of

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.

Stigma surrounds mental illness even in contemporary society. Research has aimed to reduce this. World Health Organisation (WHO; 2012) have stated that such stigma is a “hidden human rights emergency”.

The majority of people that have a severe mental illness are object to challenges in double measure. From one point of view, they wrestle with the symptoms and disablement that result from the illness. From another point, they are tested by the stereotypes and preconceived ideas that stem from the misunderstandings about mental illness. As a culmination of both, people with a mental illness are stripped of the chances that define a quality life such as a good job, safe housing, adequate health care, and a connection with a varied group of people. Although research has gone a long way to understand the affect of the disease, it only recently has begun to explain the stigma of mental illness (Corrigan). The lives of people who are living with a mental illness are many times drastically adjusted by the symptoms of the illness and everyone’s response to them. While symptoms can normally be diminished by a number of actions, the intrinsic stigma and prejudice that comes with mental illness may continue on for a lifetime and can manifest themselves in a number of understated and non-understated ways. Normally, when one thinks of a stigma, they think of disgrace that is associated with a particular event, circumstance, or occasion. People with a mental illness are most often branded as an effect of their behavior, appearance, therapy, their economic status, and also the negative depictions in the media of the mental illnesses. People with a mental illness often have a “stereotype

It has been a repetitive and shameful practice of the United States, and other countries, to shy away from or oppress those who are different. This form of inequality is shared with immigrants, African Americans, the physically ill, and the mentally ill. In particular, the discrimination against the mentally ill becomes an interesting and unique history that has evolved due to Western medicine, and now effects the whole world. In many instances, it has become apparent that the symptoms and stigma surrounding the mentally ill stems from Western ideals as well. This paper explores this stigma, the ways oppressions are carried out, and how they are being dealt with.

While mental health is a global issue with varying stereotypes and prejudice surrounding it, there seems to be a shared general opinion that our society has regarding the mentally ill. However, because being mentally ill generally means something different depending on who or where you may be asking, as some cultures view mental illness in completely different ways than others, the focus of this paper will be in regards to the shared general opinion and view that Americans have of the mentally ill, as well as the stereotypes, prejudice and the stigma that they associate with those who are suffering from mental health issues. In the United States, as Mooney states, “Mental health is defined as the successful performance of mental function, resulting

Mental illness is a controversial topic in recent news. From Sandy Hook to the Aurora movie theatre shooting, the effects of mental illness have sparked fierce debate and negative stigma surrounding the issue. Mental illnesses, “patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional” (Myers 562), affect 1 in 4 people at some point in their lives ("Stigma and Discrimination"). However, only 59.6% of people with mental illness report receiving treatment, as they are often perceived as “dangerous, unpredictable, responsible for their illness, or generally incompetent” (Corrigan, Druss, and Perlick). As a result, an entire group of citizens is discriminated against for a condition beyond their control. With so much riding on the issue, a question needs to be addressed: to what extent does stigma surrounding mental illness affect the treatment of patients in healthcare and society? To explore the effects of stigma surrounding mental illness, it is essential to understand the issue through historical, sociocultural, economic, and scientific lenses.

Despite the growing knowledge and recognition of mental illness, stigma is still so rampant. Mental health patients are demonized, criminalized, and dehumanized. They are viewed as violent, filthy, unapproachable, incompetent, irresponsible, and most importantly dangerous. These labels, in turn, create prejudicial attitudes and discriminating behavior toward individuals suffering mental illness.

Mental illness has plagued the world for hundreds of years. With mental illnesses came the increasing stigmatization towards them. Stigmatize is to “describe or regard as worthy of disgrace or great disapproval” (Oxford Dictionary) and a stigma is simply “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person” (Oxford Dictionary). According to the US President’s Commission on Mental Health the stigmatization of mental illness has grown with the spread of media (qtd. Wahl 343). The problems society is faced with today is the stigmatization in the media. The substantial attention that has been focused recently on the image of mental illnesses had led to the conclusion that mental health attitudes are significantly

Unfortunately the stigma that has been placed on person with mental illnesses, serves as the barrier force for what keeps the patients from ever seeking help to correct or alleviate their disease. In their article, The Power of Language and Labels: “The Mentally Ill” Versus “People With Mental Illnesses,” Darcy Haag Granello and Todd A. Gibbs found that, “28% of the U.S. adult population has a diagnosable mental condition, only about 8% of these people actually seek treatment.” Granello and Gibbs identify this low turnout of people as a direct result of Americans low level of tolerance towards mental illnesses, as well as Americans general discomfort with people struck by mental illness, which ends up demonstrating Americans revulsion towards mental illnesses. Humans, being primarily social creatures, depend on social interactions and feelings of connectedness in order to properly assimilate into society. In order to properly assimilate into society, it is imperative that human beings are able to read social cues and establish a sense of social values, when a person discovers that mental illnesses results in negative social cues that person will naturally strive to ensure they are free of mental illnesses – fearing that if someone discovers that they have a mental illness, they too, will

Stigma has been said to be “a feeling of being negatively differentiated owing to a particular condition, group membership or state in life”(Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012, p. 458). There are typically two types of mental illness stigma that are discussed. Public stigma, also known as societal stigma, is the stigma associated with the prejudicial attitudes the public holds towards those people who suffer from mental illness (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012; Corrigan, Markowitz, Watson, Rowan & Kubiak, 2003). Self-stigma, also known as internalized stigma, is the loss of self-esteem, withdrawal, and personal shame that some with mental illness will experience. Self-stigma is usually developed when those who suffer from mental illness associate the negative stereotypes the public holds with themselves (Chronister, Chou, & Lieo, 2013; Corrigan et al., 2003).

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

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.

Individuals with serious mental illness are doubly affected by their disease; not only do they experience the often debilitating symptoms of their condition, but they must also endure mundane mental health stigmas and prejudices. Stigmatized attitudes are perceived to be one of the greatest impediments to living a complete and fulfilling life. Stigma has been defined as a combination of three related problems: ignorance, prejudice and discrimination (Rose, Thornicroft, Pinfold, & Kassam, 2007). Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, prejudice entails negative attitudes, and discrimination involves exclusionary actions against people deemed to be different. Two forms of stigma are commonly distinguished in literature. Public stigma describes the attitudes of society towards people with mental illness, while self-stigma results from the internalization of prejudice by people who suffer from mental health conditions (Corrigan, Powell, & Rüsch, 2012). The World Health Organization announced that stigma was the most crucial obstacle to overcome for a community to functioning effectively and efficiently (Ontario Hospital Association, 2013).

Stigmatizing is usually used by people to address the stereotypical set of negative belief and attitude towards the diagnosis of mental illness (Loh and Ghorab, 2011). The action of stigmatizing is unfortunately not new, and it has been years that people oppress the mentally ill by defaming them. How miserable it is that 90% of the mentally ill in the United States of America did not receive proper mental health care due to being stigmatized. Don’t you wonder how many percent of the mentally ill are being stigmatized these days, on a global scale?