Social Stigma and Mental Health

According to estimates provided by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, 792 million people were dealing with mental health issues in the year, 2017, worldwide, most of whom avoided getting professional help due to the prevalent discrimination and stigma around mental illnesses.

For years now, issues related to mental health have been stigmatized to the point that people suffering from serious mental issues refrain from getting professional help in order to avoid being looked down upon. Social stigma is the biggest problem that individuals suffering from poor mental health have to face everyday. Stereotypes make it difficult for such people to feel accepted in a society. For instance, the common stereotype that labels people with mental health problems as ‘dangerous’ or ‘unpredictable’ is quite discouraging to such people, which results in increased distress, oftentimes, worsening the condition of the sufferers.

Types of Stigma

Broadly, stigma is divided into ‘public stigma’ and ‘self stigma’. Public stigma is the public’s act of discrimination towards individuals experiencing mental health issues based on their differences in appearance, abilities, interests and behaviours. Self stigma is correlated to public stigma as it arises from the discrimination that they face in daily life to such an extent that they start to discriminate themselves from the general public, consequently, giving rise to depreciative thoughts regarding their own selves.

Common stigmas and misconceptions regarding mental health

Stigmas and misconceptions regarding mental health have been widespread throughout the world since ages. What is alarming though, is the fact that they are still prevalent in the advanced day and age of today. Considering the advancement of today’s era and seemingly educated masses of today, one would think that such stigmas would be eradicated and discrimination would be non-existent. Turns out, it isn’t so. If anything, the educated masses seem to be the ones propagating false ideologies regarding mental issues. Some common stigmas and misbeliefs regarding mental health are:

• People suffering from mental health issues are dangerous.
• Mental disorders make people violent and likely to lash out.
• Mental illnesses like eating disorders are self-inflicted.
• Mental disorders are contagious.
• Mental disorders are a myth and sufferers are attention seekers.
• Mental illnesses are benign and do not need treatment.

The last one is especially crushing, considering nearly 45% people who commit suicide are known to have poor mental health.

Harmful effects of stigma on mental health

Poor mental health itself is a huge problem for sufferers to cope with. Adding stigma on top of it makes it increasingly difficult to make recovery, having adverse effects on the mental health of suffering individuals. Harmful effects that may arise due to stigma include:

• Reluctance to seek professional medical treatment.
• Low self-esteem.
• Few or no job opportunities.
• Physical and mental abuse in public places, including bullying in schools.
• Lack of understanding from peers and family.

The stigma around mental instability hinders sufferers from achieving success in life, getting education, employement, establishing friendships and living a normal life. Oftentimes, it results in such people isolating themselves when they’re made to feel like they’re not part of the society. Some, who manage to get employed, usually only get the low grade, menial tasks assigned to them and even then, they’re constantly subject to prejudice.

Various cultures disregard anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, phobias, eating disorders, stress, personality disorders etc. as signs of poor mental health. Such issues are usually overlooked as being benign by family and friends, which discourages sufferers from seeking help and treatment out of fear of being labelled ‘over dramatic’ or ‘attention seekers’.

Coping with stigma

Mental disorders are increasing day by day and so is the amount of uneducated and ignorant people who, either by choice or by nature, tend to be discriminative and disrespectful towards mentally ill individuals. It is high time to educate these people on such matters to make sure the future generations are met with proper education and care regarding mental health, never fearing stigma.

Some steps that can be helpful in coping with mental health stigma include:

1.   Self education

Ignorance is among the major factors behind most of the prevalent issues in the world. Educating others as well as oneself on controversial topics which have been a target of misconceptions for ages, could bring about revolution. It is of utmost importance for people suffering from mental health problems to first, enlighten themselves on the subject of mental health to make sure they can counter ignorant people with factual information and rectify their false beliefs.

2.   Get professional help

Professional medical help and care is a necessity for treatment of mental health issues. Unfortunately, sufferers tend to be reluctant to visit  psychiatrists out of fear of being labelled. It is imperative that such individuals get the treatment they need otherwise their state of mind could potentially prove to be lethal.

3.   Emotional support

Family and friends need to ensure they’re playing their part and providing  emotional support to such individuals. They should never let them isolate themselves, try to be as supportive as possible and maintain an optimistic environment at all times.

4.   Tell your story

Speaking up and telling ones story of mental health issues could help others suffering from the same issues, relate to such stories. This could also help eradicate fallacies, encourage education and popularise mental health as something not to be ashamed of.

There are various other remedies to overcome stigma and normalise seeking help for mental issues. It is definitely a difficult task to change peoples’ perceptions regarding the issue, but it is not completely impossible if we work together and take immediate action.

References

Patrick Corrigan and, AB Bink. “The stigma of mental illness”. Illinois Institute of technology.

Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser. “Mental Health”. 2020.
Health direct. “Mental health stigma”. 2019.

Mayo clinic staff. “Mental health: overcoming the stigma of mental illness”. 2017.

National Alliance on Mental Illness. “Risk of suicide”. 2019.

Images

Thrive Global. Mental Illnesses .https://thriveglobal.com/stories/stress-at-work-tips-to-take-care-of-your-mental-health/amp/

Hilltop Views. Harmful effects of stigma. https://www.google.com.pk/amp/s/www.hilltopviewsonline.com/20099/news/psychology-society-raises-awareness-on-mental-health-stigmas/amp/