The Stigma of Mental Health
When you are confronted with the issue of Mental Health, Mental Illness, Depression, Anxiety what image comes to mind? For many there is a negative attitude and stereotype towards people with mental illness.
You may use words like ‘mad’ ‘crazy’ or ‘weird’ to describe someone suffering with mental illness but doing so simply fuels the fire of fear and ignorance causing them to fall further into isolation.
In 1999 the U.S. Surgeon General labeled stigma as perhaps the biggest barrier to mental health care; this stigma manifests particularly in a phenomenon known as social distancing, whereby people with mental issues are more isolated from others.
Stereotypes and prejudice are usually the result of misconceptions about mental illness. ‘People with mental illness are violent!’ or ‘They’re all scary’ are ideas that generate a negative emotional reaction towards the mental health population.
Stigmas about mental illness seem to be widely endorsed by the general public in the Western world. Studies suggest that the majority of citizens in the United States and many Western European nations have stigmatising attitudes about mental illness.
Stigmas attached to mental illness is often the cause of individuals dropping out of treatment or avoid it entirely for fear of being associated with negative stereotypes.
A new report, published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, investigates stigma as a significant barrier to care for many individuals with mental illness. Psychological scientist Patrick W. Corrigan of the Illinois Institute of Technology and lead author on the report notes:
‘that stigma often becomes structural when it pervades societal institutions and systems. The fact that mental health care is not covered by insurance to the same extent as medical care, and the fact that mental health research is not funded to the same levels as medical research, are two clear indications that stigma targeted at mental illness continues to exist at the structural level.’
To be continued...
Be Blessed, Stay Beautiful♥
Source: sharingselfimprovement.com
No comments:
Post a Comment