'The Stigma Of Mental Illness'

The disparity in treatment has been attempted to be remedied over the eras. Bills and Acts put into place in the 20th and 21st centuries have seeked to improve care and reduce stigma around those with mental illness. This began in 1942, when Harry Truman signed the National Mental Health Act, which requested the formation of a National Institute of Mental Health. Shortly after this, in 1949, the National Institute of Mental Health was established (“National Institute of Mental Health”). During the company’s 60 year lifespan they have focused on research about mental illness, educating the public, and improving the lives of the mentally ill by working to pass laws. One law that seeks to reduce the stigma of mental illness is the Mental Healths Service Act of California. "California 's Historic Effort To Reduce The Stigma Of Mental Illness: The Mental Health Services Act" from the American Journal Of Public Health illustrates how the Act will make improvements. Families and individuals who have experienced stigma had a big role in the process, specifically with developing a 10 year plan, the California Strategic Plan on Reducing Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination. One component of the Act discussed is the work plan developed by California Mental Health Services Authority, which has three components: stigma and discrimination reduction, student mental health, and suicide prevention. Organizations such as the NIMH have made efforts resulting in the evolution of mental

7. Lt Col Chris Karns, "Eliminating Stigma: A Leadership Responsibility," U.S. Air Force, 02 September 2014,

One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.

In the past, extensive research has been documented on the relationship between mental illness and stigma. Decades of research have also been done on stereotypes of men and women. However, studies done on mental illness and stigma rarely have an emphasis on gender differences, which hugely contributes to the way stigma is perceived (Chandra & Minkovitz, 2006, p. 19). Mental illness stigma is a belief that individuals with mental illnesses are different; individuals dealing with mental illness are commonly labeled as weird, attention seeking, crazy, incompetent, and other negatively biased connotations. The attitude of stigma towards mental illness leads to discrimination and discouragement and is a barrier to living a life of full potential.

Over the past year there have been forty-five school shootings, leaving at least 13 people dead as a result (Everytown Research). After every mass shooting, there is a period of speculation and fear where the public does not know how or why these tragedies have happened, but the easiest thing to do to alleviate the blame and grief they feel is to place the blame on a target that cannot easily defend themselves: mentally ill people.

In the niagara region 17% of secondary students having seriously considered suicide (Niagara Region Public Health). Stigma against mental health creates barriers for these students who are struggling and I feel that it is a major issue within Niagara that needs action. Stigma against mental health touches everyone regardless of if you are struggling, diagnosed with an illness or have never had an issue or involvement with the world of mental health because chances are you know someone who struggles or you might find yourself struggling one day. Mental heath has the capacity to touch everyone, including myself, so how do we limit the fear and the stigma surrounding mental health?

There is a definite stigma attached to metal health disorders and illnesses. I personally believe that the reason there is such a stigma is the lack of education or information. People are often afraid of what they don't know or understand. Therefore, they ostracize or judge the subject/person in question. According to the book "Reducing th Stigma of Mental Illness: A Report from a Global Association, that the stigma is exceptionally severe for those who have schizophrenia. When you stop to think about it, if you have never met someone with schizophrenia you base all of your assumptions off of the media. There have a been movies where the main character has schizophrenia and they are made to seem really unstable and dangerous. This shoots

Stigma would hinder the ability for those to seek treatment by the fact that it would cause this discrimination to be put forth upon them. It is a common problem that most people who suffer from a sort of mental illness feel as if they are going to be treated as a burden. They may have trouble finding an actual person to help them because many view the problem as not that big of concerning issue. It is quite common for many people who suffer from mental illnesses to go through many people before they find one that helps. In the process of finding this person, they see signs and gestures that “they are a bother” or “why are you wasting my time” kind of deals. This discourages them from seeking help in the first place.

Mental illness is one of the most stigmatized medical conditions in society. People diagnosed with mental illnesses experience a difficult social life, where most of the community members harbor prejudicial attitudes toward them. Undoubtedly, having a mental illness profoundly affects how an individual interacts with the rest of the community in various issues. More often than not, the social consequences of mental disorders are negative since persons with the illness are naturally disadvantaged compared to their typical counterparts. For example, in education, jobs, relationships, and a host of other socially significant areas, individuals diagnosed with mental illness encounter insurmountable challenges (Baldwin and Marcus 390). This paper analyzes ten journal articles that have researched on the effects of stigma toward mental illnesses and highlights some of the social consequences that victims are faced with on a daily basis.

Many people have experienced the stigma of mental illness. Although we have a goal to end that stigma, UMA Health aims to create a safe, quick and confidential platform for all mental health illnesses. People will be able to express the issues they are going through when they are ready to their friends and family. The main concern of almost all mental health appointments is the worry about the information getting back to the employer and co-worker. Even though all mental health providers are legally obligated to keep the appointment information confidential, employers can still see what doctors you book with. If you’re worried about your mental health appointments getting back to your job, you’ve come to the right place. Don’t let the fear

behavior is seen as threatening, society results to punishing them or avoiding them (Hinshaw, 2007, p. 7). An example of this is that “each year in the United States between 5 and 6 million individuals with mental disorders lose, fail to seek, or cannot find employment as a consequence of their mental illness” (Hinshaw, 2007, p. 124).

I really liked reading our post. I find it very interesting that whenever rural areas are talked about the first thing that normally comes up is the lack of resources and funds. The wrap around service should be implemented in rural areas. I think that it will definitely make a positive impact on the community. Honestly I think that the stigma of mental health plays a big role throughout the rural community. Since the rural community has lack of fund that have to spend their money in what they think is the most important to them. Unfortunately mental health is not one of those things. This is why the wrap around service needs to be applied.

The stigma of mental health illness, in couple relationships, is often overlooked, as it may be misrepresented as stress, poor communication, or even personality disorders. However, these cases, the condition of one spouse that is experiencing difficulties in balancing their illness creates stress on the other spouse that is healthy (Wetchler & Hecker. 2015).

Counselors can reduce the stigma related to mental illness among African American by making it easy for the client to trust them. The client needs to know that is okay to seek help for their mental illness and how to cope with the illness. If there were more African American in the mental health field than many would be willing to accept counseling. They would feel like someone can relate to

Mental Illness is a universal health issue which causes mass amounts of suffering amongst the general population. It can become a majorly debilitating when subjected to a psychiatric illness, however, this is not entirely due to the undesirable symptoms from the conditions themselves but also the stigma that’s inherently linked to the label of being “mentally ill”. The negatively stigmatized views cause shame, ostracism, and marginalization among the mentally ill and some even describe the consequences of stigma as being worse than the condition its self (The, 2016). Because of this, those in need of help often refrain from seeking treatment in order to avoid being diagnosed and becoming susceptible to the stigma associated with the label. It’s estimated that in any given year 30% of the global population will be affected by a mental health disorder and two-thirds of these people will not seek the care that they require (Ngui, Khasakhala, Ndetei & Roberts, 2010). Stigma has been shown to be a clear barrier that is partly responsible for this lack of help-seeking behavior (Wrigley, Jackson, Judd & Komiti, 2005). Therefore, health organizations need to look at anti-stigma programs that break down these barriers that restrict the mentally ill from seeking treatment.