Mental health: Overcoming the stigma of mental illness

Progress is being made to remove the stigma of mental illness and mental health disorders.

You've probably heard the hurtful words before — words like "psycho" and "schizo." Or you've seen the jokes about mental health on television referring to "loony bins" and characters in straitjackets.

But if you or a loved one has a mental illness or has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, you know that these words and gimmicks aren't just harmless fun. They perpetuate the stigma attached to mental health conditions. Stigma may make you angry and upset, and it can cause the public to misunderstand mental illnesses. But while the stigma of a mental health disorder can be painful and shaming, you can find ways to cope with it and even combat it.

Stigma begins with labeling someone.

Stigma, by definition, is a mark of disgrace or shame. Stigma has four components:

Labeling someone with a condition:

Stereotyping people who have that condition

Creating a division — a superior "us" group and a devalued "them" group, resulting in loss of status in the community

Discriminating against someone on the basis of their label:

Labels can be useful, though, and they're not always negative. In health, for instance, a diagnosis is, in essence, a label. A label can offer reassurance that your condition has a medical cause, and it can help steer you toward appropriate treatment.

Labels don't always result in stigma, either. Many illnesses today are gaining acceptance and empathy. Breast cancer is a shining example. Survivors used to feel shamed and kept their condition secret for fear of being stigmatized. Today, though, survivors and advocates openly talk about the condition, hold fundraisers or wear ribbons or wristbands to show support.

Why mental health disorders still face stigma?

While most people would never think of mocking someone with breast cancer, mental health disorders and conditions still remain fair game for ridicule.

Mental vs. physical:

Why does stigma of mental illnesses continue? For one thing, the term "mental illness" suggests that it's not the same as a medical or physical illness. To some, the word "mental" suggests that the illness is not a legitimate medical condition but rather a problem caused by your own choices and actions. People may blame you and think your condition is "all in your head." They may think that a mental health disorder means that you're weak or lazy. They may think that you should just "get over it." And you may begin to think these things about yourself, too.

In reality, mental illnesses have very complex causes, often a mix of your genetics, your biology and your life experiences — most of which are beyond your control. Neuroimaging studies, for instance, show physical changes in the brain associated with mental disorders. And studies show that some mental illnesses run in families, suggesting that they may be due in part to your genes.

Crime and violence:

Some people also believe that if you have a mental health disorder, you must be dangerous and violent. This perception is often inflamed by media accounts of crime in which someone is vaguely referred to as "mentally ill."

Statistics, however, don't bear out a connection between mental illnesses and violence. Most people who have a mental illness are neither violent nor criminals.

Stigma worse for some conditions:

As a result of such misperceptions, stigma continues, and mental health conditions remain the butt of jokes in popular culture. Negative portrayals of people with mental illnesses fuel fear and mistrust and reinforce distorted perceptions. That leads to even more stigma, causing a vicious cycle.
Some mental health disorders face more stigma than others, though.

Schizophrenia, for instance, is more highly stigmatized than depression is. It's routinely mocked and is less likely to generate compassion. Depression, on the other hand, is less often ridiculed, perhaps because an onslaught of advertising for antidepressant medications has made the disorder more mainstream and more acceptable.

Harmful effects of stigma.

For someone with a mental illness, the consequences of stigma can be devastating — in some cases, worse than the illness itself. Some of the harmful effects of stigma include:

Trying to pretend nothing is wrong

Refusal to seek treatment

Rejection by family and friends

Work problems or discrimination

Difficulty finding housing

Being subjected to physical violence or harassment

Inadequate health insurance coverage of mental illnesses.

Open discussion can help erase stigma
Not all the news is bad, though. Today, the stigma surrounding some mental health disorders is slowly eroding. That's due in part to greater public understanding of mental illnesses and the biological basis that many of them have. As causes of mental illnesses and better treatments for them are discovered, stigma may fade even more.

In addition, many celebrities and public figures have openly discussed their experiences with a mental health condition. This also helps bring the topic out of the closet of shame. Source of information: Mayo Staff