MENTAL HEALTH: Why the Stigma?

Hello everyone, feels good to be back again! Last month was World Suicide Prevention Month and a lot has been on going on creating awareness towards suicide prevention. This month, October 10^th 2019 is World Mental Health Day, and guess what, the theme is also Suicide Prevention :). A lot is being said about suicide as the rate of suicide is increasing by the day both here in Nigeria and over the world. However, there are ways one can prevent this epidemic called suicide. You can click http://shunnysideville.blogspot.com/2019/08/suicide-prevention.html to read up on some tips I shared on Suicide Prevention. The awareness continues as we hope to get a large number of Nigerians and even Africans on being conscious about their mental health and when to seek help.

So today, I would be discussing on an issue (stigma) that has actually been a major turn off why people do not even bother seeking for help or talking to anyone about their mental health. Even globally, a lot of people have suffered from stigma which has made things even worse for them on the long run. How has stigma been an issue in mental health, what are its causes and what can be done to help reduce it to its barest minimum is what I would be discussing about today. I will also be sharing possible steps by which one can cope when being stigmatized as I would be lying if I say there won’t be a stigma.

We need to understand that stigma occurs when society labels someone as tainted or less desirable. This shows that the society place a major role when it comes to stigma. There are three elements that are associated with stigma and they are, a lack of knowledge/ignorance, negative attitudes or prejudice and discrimination i.e. people behaving in ways that disadvantage the stigmatized person. Now just as several health conditions like HIV/AIDS, cancers, skin conditions etc. are associated with stigma, the stigma related to mental health problems is particularly severe and widespread.

There are two known types of stigma that occurs with mental health problems and these are the social stigma and the self-stigma. Social stigma, which is also called public stigma, refers to negative stereotypes of those with a mental health problem. These stereotypes come to define the person, mark them out as different and prevent them from being seen as an individual. Social stigma is very much associated with discrimination. For example, a person with a mental health problem may find that others, including friends and colleagues, avoid them. They may also find it harder to gain housing, obtain employment and access healthcare and may find that their account is less likely to be believed by the police if they report a crime. 

Self-stigma occurs when a person internalizes these negative stereotypes. This can cause low self-esteem, shame and hopelessness. An example is when a person begins to isolate themselves, withdraw from social gatherings because they feel they are deficient in many ways, etc. The problem with the both types of stigma is that it would lead a person to avoid seeking help for their mental health problem due to embarrassment or fear of being shunned or rejected. When this happens the underlying problem can go untreated causing unnecessary suffering. And then, we all know that delay in receiving treatment would further worsen the outlook of the conditions which would lead to stress and anxiety. It gets worse as even family members can become stigmatized by a relative having a mental health problem, so called courtesy stigma.This happens when neighbors and even family friends starts withdrawing from the family or make derogatory remakes because of the fact that a member of the family is suffering a mental illness.

One reason why there is an increased stigma is that the level of knowledge among the public regarding mental health problems is very poor and negative beliefs and attitudes are widespread. A lot of misleading media reports isn’t even helping matters. One example of a common and damaging misperceptions is that people with schizophrenia are violent and a danger to others which has been depicted also in the movies. But for a fact, research has shown thata person with schizophrenia is far more likely to be the victim of violence than to be violent to another person. They are even more likely to be the victim of violence than a person in the general population. Similarly, early beliefs about the causes of mental health problems, such as demonic or spirit possession, were ‘explanations’ that would almost certainly give rise to reactions of caution, fear and discrimination.Other misperceptions include the view that mental health problems are uncommon, that sufferers seldom recover and that treatment is ineffective. This is far from being true as with the adequate treatment, there is sure going to be positive outcome.

Education campaigns have been known to help reduce stigma. Most are targeted at the general public but they can also focus on specific groups, for example teachers, the police or medical students. Providing accurate information and key messages is also important. Examples of key messages include that mental health problems are common and affect people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures but are not a barrier to living a fulfilling and successful life as shown by the many famous people who have suffered from depression and other psychiatric problems. Tackling stigma is not only the responsibility of those organising large scale education campaigns. A ‘bottom up’ approach is also needed. People who have suffered from a mental health problem, family members, health care professionals and the general public need to feel confident to challenge negative stereotypes that they encounter, whether at work or socially. Another way to combat stigma is through anti-discrimination policy and legislation. This approach has proven successful in reducing discrimination experienced by people on grounds of gender, race and sexual orientation.  The Act would also require employers to make reasonable adjustments in the work place if a person’s disability puts them at a disadvantage compared to others.

While more people than ever before are going to treatment and getting the help they need, there are still far too many who are afraid to seek help. Most are afraid of the “label” that is placed on people going to therapy. Getting help for depression does not mean a person is weak, lazy, or worse, crazy.Learning to accept your condition and recognize what you need to do to treat it, seeking support, and helping educate others can make a big difference.

Happy Mental Health Month

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