Mental health stigma is the viewing of people with mental disorders negatively. It results from misinformation, lack of understanding, and misperceptions about mental disorders. Mental health stigma takes many forms in everyday life within society. These stereotypes are exaggerated because it is discriminatory and discourage those suffering from getting help. This is counterproductive given the fact that mental health problems are on a constant high. With many more people speaking up, some continue to minimize and ostracize their suffering through stereotypes, jokes, humiliation, invalidation and negative connotations.
There is the stereotyping of mental disorders resulting from drug abuse and alcoholism. It is still widely held that mental illness is caused by drug and alcohol misuse. While that may be one of the contributing factors, it is not the sole factor. Research shows that mental illnesses can be caused by several factors, such as trauma, chronic illness, extreme stress, developmental factors, physical injury, and so on.
Stereotyping and profiling people lead us to believe that mental illnesses are so far removed from our human experience that they could never happen to our loved ones, family, or friends. This is a common myth, while In reality, someone you know or love is suffering from a mental disease and is unable to tell you.
Persons living with mental disorders continue to be invalidated through language. They are accused of being manipulative, weak, and sluggish. For instance, depression is termed laziness, and anxiety is cowardly behaviour. There are also Jokes about depression being a rich man's ailment and jokes about mentally ill people just faking it.
Usage of words like "crazy", psycho", and " mad people" are also used to refer to mentally ill people, which is insulting, derogatory and degrading. Using mental illness names and symptoms casually to describe everyday situations is hurtful and unhelpful. Saying "I had a PTSD moment" to refer to their remembering an undesirable event or "You almost gave me a panic attack" dismisses those who genuinely experience these struggles. It's akin to jokingly saying, "I almost got diabetes," which is unlikely for someone to say in the case of a physical illness. This demonstrates that unlike mental illnesses, which are dismissed, physical ailments are taken seriously. This kind of language perpetuates stigma by invalidating and minimizing the illnesses.
Social media has become a popular platform for sharing videos and photos. However, it's concerning that some content can be harmful, like filming a mentally ill person during their difficult moments, which can be publicly humiliating. One positive step forward is the prohibition of photography in mental institutions; for example, at Mathare Mental Hospital, filming and photography are not allowed, which is clearly indicated by signage.
Stigma is also perpetuated in extremely destructive, invalidating, and harmful beliefs. The belief that mental problems result from spirit possession and demonic attacks is very harmful and prevents those with mental disorders from seeking treatment.
Stigma also occurs within close circles such as friends, family, acquaintances and in churches. Those who are brave to speak up sometimes end up being ostracized. This happens when people dealing with mental health struggles become subjects of gossip, avoidance, and isolation through silence from those around them. At times, they're unfairly labelled as manipulative or lacking in effort, unable to cope with life's challenges. This kind of judgment diminishes the seriousness of mental health issues. Due to this stigma, many individuals keep their struggles hidden, fearing that if they seek help, they'll be seen as attention-seekers or dismissed.
Stigma isolates people from society, exacerbates symptoms, and reinforces feelings of anger, mistrust, and fear among persons suffering from mental illnesses. This causes people with mental health conditions to avoid help by concealing, resulting in them missing out on equal opportunities, being unemployed, and falling behind in the human experience.
Please stand up for someone you believe is being stigmatized, speak up when you notice bad connotations being pushed around, and most importantly, educate yourself so that we all dispel misperception as a society.
|Hellen is a Social Scientist, a Mental Health Educator, and Writer of the blog Hellen's Bounty, read more of her articles by visiting https://hellensbounty.blogspot.com/ |