Coercive mental health treatments were more readily endorsed for schizophrenia and drug dependence, as compared to depression and alcohol dependence (Pescosolido et al. 1999). Recommendations for coercive mental health treatment, particularly forced hospitalization, increased when the person was viewed as less competent to make treatment decisions and to be a danger to self or others (Pescosolido et al. 1999). Advocate for maverick house sober living policy changes that protect the rights of people with mental health conditions and promote access to quality mental health care. The words that you use when speaking or writing about mental health conditions can feed stereotypes and negative attitudes if you aren’t careful. Structural stigma involves institutional policies, practices, and systems that perpetuate discrimination against people with mental health conditions.
Mental health: Overcoming the stigma of mental illness
For example, a recent study that assessed trends in the stigma of mental illness in the U.S. between 1996 and 2018 found a substantial decrease in stigma for major depression but not for schizophrenia or alcohol dependence. The study also reported a substantial increase in acceptance of biomedical causes of mental illness, but that acceptance didn’t lead to less social rejection. Stigma forces people to not only struggle with their disorder but to cope with prejudice and rejection. This can lead people to develop feelings of self-blame and low self-esteem, and prevent them from seeking treatment or social and professional opportunities. A systematic review demonstrates these repercussions, finding that mental health stigma negatively affects employment, income, and public views about resource allocation and healthcare costs. Professional stigma refers to the stigmatizing attitudes mental healthcare providers may hold towards individuals they treat.
Healthcare-Related Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination
Using mass media can be difficult because the media tends to convey primarily negative information, and are inclined to use psychiatric terms in a metaphorical, mostly negative way. For example, a usual headline would state that politicians adopt a schizophrenic policy or that the economy is in a depression. However, even if the media refrained from using such terms—because they are obviously politically incorrect—it would by no group activities for substance abuse recovery means guarantee that attitudes are changed. Instead, the life crisis model of mental disorders should be applied, because it has the potential to create proximity and help people identify empathetically with the mentally ill so that they are regarded more as “one of us”. The most likely explanation for this behaviour is that mental health professionals are often confronted with patients who are reluctant to undergo treatment.
How to Reduce Mental Health Stigma
Similarly, child respondents were more likely to blame the parents if a child has a mental illness (i.e. ADHD, depression) than if a child has asthma, and more likely to blame the parents if the child has depression than ADHD (Walker et al. 2008). Adult respondents were less likely to believe that individuals with schizophrenia should be blamed or punished for violent behavior, as compared to those with depression (Anglin et al. 2006). They may avoid seeking treatment because they fear the label, stigma, and discrimination (Evans et al., 2023). Self-stigma happens when someone develops negative perceptions (often similar to those involved in social stigma) about themselves because of their mental health challenges. This can lead to feelings of shame, low self-esteem, and reluctance to seek help. A lack of awareness, education, perception, and a fear of people with mental illness can all lead to increased stigma.
- Having self-stigmatizing attitudes have been shown to decrease a person’s likelihood of recovering from their mental illness.
- For example, in more than half of the movies that researchers analyzed, the use of psychiatric medications was depicted or alluded to.
- Stigma may lead to difficulty seeking treatment or even following through with treatment.
Keep reading to explore mental health stigma, its effects, and what people can do to overcome them. Given how common it is for people to experience a decline in mental health, the level of stigma that exists in society is surprising and often contradictory. Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions. Aside from that, not only has stigma about mental health lessened in the U.S., but the world has gotten more stressful over time, too, and «a person can only take so much before they need support,» Schmelzer says. Ramping up behavioral health at Children’s puts emphasis on a growing mindset among health care workers and the community at large that mental health is health.
Mental illness stigma
And some people may experience increased symptoms of their condition, or even develop new ones — like anxiety or depression — because of experiencing stigma. For example, research suggests that Black and Latino people experience mental health conditions more severely and persistently than other racial symptoms of being roofied or ethnic groups. Much of this imbalance stems from factors like institutionalized racism, prejudice, and other outside circumstances. These escalating conditions have fueled longer waitlists for nearly 40% of psychologists nationwide — if psychologists can accommodate new patients at all.
It can take up to a decade to get hospitals up to speed with new research, Herbst said, but under Gaffrey’s leadership, she believes implementing novel tools over a relatively shorter window will lead to better insights and results. «The pediatricians feel more supported and informed. The kids and families really value that care at the pediatrician office, from screening to intervention, and they want more of it,» Herbst said. The American Psychological Association projected that by 2025, Wisconsin will have 1,520 full-time psychologists, but the state will still need 250 psychologists to meet demands. By 2030, the state is projected to close that gap by nearly 40%, but that still means it’ll be short 170 professionals.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), stigma happens when people are negatively viewed for having a specific characteristic — whether that’s mental, physical, or otherwise. Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor and Michigan State University doctor, was arrested in 2016 and found to have sexually assaulted hundreds of women and girls, including Olympic champions, under the guise of providing medical treatment. Dr. Michael Gaffrey, the first-ever endowed chair of mental and behavioral health research at the Craig Yabuki Mental Health Center, has been conducting research at Children’s to put cutting-edge science to practice in a timely manner.
Research also highlights that stigma towards mental illness has significant implications for treating and managing mental health conditions. For example, several studies suggest that stigma can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment-seeking behaviors [13,16]. This is concerning because early intervention is critical for managing mental illness and improving outcomes for individuals living with these conditions. These measures collectively contribute to improved awareness, understanding, and acceptance of mental health conditions, thus facilitating early intervention and better management of mental illnesses across diverse cultural contexts.
They found that 62% of respondents endorsed patronizing behavior with mentally ill individuals by talking to them more slowly. Furthermore, 81% of respondents reported frequently reminding them to take their medication. Fact – Various factors, including physical illness, injury, brain chemistry, trauma, abuse, and family history, contribute to mental illness. Sadly, discrimination toward mental illness is still in news headlines, media representations, hiring practices, and structural norms. Goffman’s work revealed that labeling and stigmatization can have enduring, if not permanent, effects on patients (Dobson & Stuart, 2021).
Research has also found that 75% of depictions of mental illness in popular video games are negative or stereotyped. People who do not have disabilities can use media channels to mock people who do have disabilities, such as by appropriating mental-illness terminology. For instance, the hashtag OCD (#OCD) is commonly used on Twitter to describe one’s attention to cleanliness or organization. The media can also trivialize mental illness, either by promoting mental illness as not being severe or being less severe than it really is.
