Reducing Stigma
It is something that seems to penetrate all walks of life, we cannot escape it. The way we are brought up, the media and our social networks can all add to it. What is stigma and what can we do about it?
Stigma can affect many aspects of people’s lives. A Stigma occurs when someone views you in a negative way because of a particular attribute or characteristic. This could be skin colour, cultural background, a disability or a mental illness. When treated in a negative way because of an attribute this is discrimination.
Stigma happens when a person defines someone by their illness rather than who they are as an individual. For example, when it comes to mental health, people may be described as ‘Disturbed / Nuts / Confused’ rather than being described as a person experiencing issues with their Mental Health. The list of negative ways in which they could be described is constantly evolving.
Stigma can be present in all walks of life. Here, I am going to focus upon stigma from a mental health perspective.
For people with mental health issues, the stigma and discrimination they experience, can exacerbate the problem and make it more difficult to recover. This can lead to a person avoiding seeking the help that they need for fear of being stigmatised.
Stigma occurs when someone is less desirable or tainted. It is constructed of three elements:
Ignorance - a lack of knowledge
Prejudice - negative attitudes
Discrimination - people behaving in ways that disadvantage the stigmatised person
Two main stigmas occur in Mental Health problems; Social Stigma (also called Public Stigma) and Self Stigma. These stereotypes come to define the person, marking them out as different and can prevent them being seen as an individual. Social stigma is frequently associated with discrimination.
Self-Stigma occurs when people internalise public attitudes and suffer negative consequences as a result. Self-stigmatisation has been defined as the process in which a person with a mental health diagnosis becomes aware of public stigma, agrees with those stereotypes, and internalises them by applying them to the self (Corrigan, Larson, & Kuwabara, 2010).
Stigma can have many negative and harmful effects upon the sufferer, some of the negative effects associated with stigma include:
A reluctance to seek help
Experiencing feelings of isolation, helplessness, hopelessness and shame
Reduced opportunities for social interaction, exacerbating the feelings of isolation
A reduction in employment opportunities
Self-criticism and self-doubt
A lack of understanding by family, friends, colleagues or others
In extreme cases, this can lead to bullying, harassment and even physical violence
People with mental health problems say that the stigma associated to mental ill health can make the difficulties worse causing it to be harder to recover. It is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem. Approximately 10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem. Depression is the predominant mental health problem worldwide, followed by anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. (https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stigma-and-discrimination)
So why is it that even though it is the predominant health problem worldwide, there is a stigma attached to it? It is my view that this originates from a lack of understanding. It seems that over recent years the term ‘Mental Health’ has become a buzz word. This may in part be to the rise of social media. We now have access to information with the touch of a button.
When people hear the term ‘Mental Health’ a series of negative images appear. However, the fact is we all have Mental Health. There is no escaping it. Many of us will experience highs and lows. There will be days where we have good mental health and days when it is not so good. Mental health is not defined, it is not set in stone. Just like the seasons it can change.
To be able to deal with mental health effectively we need to reduce the stigma. This starts with recognising our own beliefs and attitudes and how this affects how we act. There are actions we can all take to reduce stigma.
Five things you can do to reduce stigma:
Do your research, Know the facts. Educate yourself about mental health and share your learning with others.
Encourage an open dialogue. It is important to talk. Healthy dialogue brings the issue in to clear focus so that it can be dealt with.
Be aware of your attitude and your behaviour. Examine your own views and beliefs and how this impacts your attitude.
Challenge myths and stereotypes. Do not judge, label or discriminate. Treat all people with respect and dignity and respect diversity.
Focus on the bigger picture, many things that are stigmatised are a small percentage of a much bigger picture.
We all have a responsibility to reduce stigma, we can all do our part. When we start with challenging our own attitudes and beliefs and adopt the principles of simply being kind, we can start to have a profound impact. When we treat others as we would like to be treated, we can build an environment of inclusivity and support.
Chris Puddy
