Mental health stigma

With a growing number of people experiencing a decline in their mental health, society is becoming better equipped to respond to our needs. However, the stigma around mental illness and seeking help remains.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Trusted Source, mental illness is among the most common health conditions in the United States.

More than 50% of U.S. adults will need mental health treatment at some point during their lifetime. In addition, 1 in 25 are currently living with a serious mental illness, such as an eating disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or major depression.

A national survey estimates that 11.2%Trusted Source of all U.S. adults report regularly feeling some form of worry, nervousness, or anxiety, while 4.7% report frequently experiencing sadness or symptoms of depression.

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.

For example, one survey concluded that the majority of people in the U.S. believe in supporting those living with mental illness, so they can live normal lives with others who could help them recover. The respondents stated they do not support the idea of keeping those with a mental health condition out of society. The survey also suggests that generally, people do not believe that those living with mental illness are excessively dangerous or prone to violence.

However, two-thirds of the survey respondents believed there was still a lot of stigma attached to mental illness, while almost half said they would not welcome a mental health facility into their neighbourhood.

Stigmas in society are commonplace. They can be difficult to dismantle and overcome once they become established over many years.

A stigma is a negative and often unfair social attitude attached to a person or group, often placing shame on them for a perceived deficiency or difference to their existence. Individuals or groups can apply stigma to those who live a certain way, have certain cultural beliefs or make lifestyle choices, or to people living with health conditions, such as mental illnesses.

Mental health stigmaTrusted Source refers to societal disapproval, or when society places shame on people who live with a mental illness or seek help for emotional distress, such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or PTSD. The pressure of mental health stigma can come from family, friends, coworkers, and society on a broader level. Groups can also politicize stigma. It can prevent people living with mental illness from getting help, fitting into society, and leading happy and comfortable lives.

Mental health stigma can come from stereotypes, which are simplified or generalized beliefs or representations of entire groups of people that are often inaccurate, negative, and offensive. They allow a person to make quick judgments about others based on a few defining characteristics, which they then apply to anyone in that group.

For instance, people living with depression are often stereotyped as lazy, while some judge those with anxiety as cowardly.

Many people fear being labeled “crazy” for simply seeking support from a therapist. None of these characterizations are valid, and all of them are misinformed, cause pain, and prevent people from getting the help they need.

However, a small minority of people living with mental illness commit violent acts. They are actually 10 times more likelyTrusted Source to be victims of a crime,Trusted Source making them a vulnerable population we should be protecting instead of fearing. Stigma against mental illness can come from several sources, such as personal, social, and family beliefs, and from the mental health condition itself, which may cause a person to act outside what is considered the social or cultural norm.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, nearly 9 out of 10 people with a mental illness feel stigma and discrimination negatively impact their lives. They also state that those with a mental health issue are among the least likely of any group with a long-term health condition or disability to find work, be in long-term relationships, live in good housing, and be socially included in mainstream society.

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