Battling stigmas of mental health
Over a quarter of the U.S. population suffers from some sort of diagnosable mental illness in any given year, yet it is often not the illness itself that most impacts those who suffer them.
The stigma surrounding mental illness is often what leads to isolation and discrimination, which can make the lives of patients much more difficult. Peers and authority figures alike still view these illnesses as threatening and uncomfortable making talking about them even harder. However it is vitally important to begin a dialogue regarding these stigmas, as only then can we work towards making them disappear, giving everyone a fair opportunity at life regardless of his or her disabilities.
The first important thing to establish when talking about mental health stigma is what it is. There are two types of stigma: social and perceived. Social stigma is the stigma from peers, often categorized by the discrimination and assumptions made of the individual with a label such as bipolar, schizophrenia, anorexia or many of the other ‘scary’ words tacked onto individuals who are struggling with their mental health. This stigma can affect job prospects, personal relationships and environments in all walks of life.
Perceived stigma is the internal stigma of the mental health patients themselves upon being given the label. This occurs because the patient begins to believe the stigma and isolate themselves--which can often make treatment much more difficult.
“It forces you to keep a very important part of you a very big secret,” said Austin Cramer, a sophomore ICT major at FSU who suffers from Bipolar II Disorder. ”You don’t know how some people are going to act out of ignorance.”
The social stigma around mental health has several causes. Historically speaking, mental health issues have only recently been properly studied, diagnosed and treated. Decades ago, patients were treated horribly both in society and in asylums. The brutal treatment derived from fear of something different and invisible, and coupled with the early belief that mental health problems were caused by things like demonic possession.
Another key reason as to why social stigma exists is simply that the most extreme and scary symptoms are the only ones that really make it into common knowledge. For instance, when people think of Bipolar Disorder, they only think of the unpredictable nature of the sufferer’s moods, assuming that it means they will go from crying to manically laughing in a matter of seconds. In reality, Bipolar Disorder is far more complicated with two different major types and many differences between patients’ symptoms. Despite all of these negative signs, there is actually hope that the stigmas can be diminished or even eliminated. In this day and age, there is a lot more knowledge on mental health and many people are starting to speak up and challenge the stigma against it.
In popular culture, there are musicians like Twenty-One Pilots and Halsey who openly discuss their mental illnesses in their songs and start conversations about them. Additionally, many activists have begun campaigns against stigma through fundraisers and events, PSAs and discussions like TED Talks. Because people are starting to talk about these issues, people are finally getting accurate information and are realizing that mental illnesses are not nearly as terrifying or extreme as they may seem in a vast majority of cases.
The struggle with separating the criminally insane from just anyone with a mental illness has been an ongoing issue. With modern knowledge and the courage to keep the conversation going, however, it is possible to accept these people in the same way we accept people with physical handicaps or diseases and treat these illnesses.