Stigma & Discrimination in Mental Health

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ZAKIEH RASOULI, COUN1103 MENTAL HEALTH
Stigma & Discrimination
Zakieh rasouli
Australian College of Applied Psychology

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ZAKIEH RASOULI, COUN1103 MENTAL HEALTH
Discrimination refers to the prejudicial or unjust treatment that the people have to suffer
because of their social or cultural background, health condition, sexual orientation and others
Brouwers et al. (2016). Phalen et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the prominence held by the
concept of mental health can be attributed to the fact that the health of an individual is directly
related to the normal life-functioning of the human beings and also their ability to fulfil the
different roles of their lives in an effective. The problem of mental illness had been looked down
upon by the human society since the traditional times and also the people suffering from it had to
face discrimination and stigma within the society. This paper will discuss the stigma and
discrimination faced by the people suffering from mental illnesses in the Australian society while
highlighting the different measures which have been taken by the Australian government for the
mitigation for the same.
Vistorte et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the different people in Australia hold
diverse opinions regarding the mental illnesses and the opinion held by them can be explained on
the basis of the culture, religion and other attributes of their life. For example, since the
traditional times the idea that mental illnesses are the result of the past evil actions which the
concerned individual have performed reigned prominence (Rozbroj et al., 2015). On the other
hand, the Bible itself mentions various instances during which Christ himself is depicted as
exorcising demons out of the bodies of the individuals which in turn are symbolical
representation of the diverse kinds of mental health illnesses (Krupchanka & Thornicroft, 2017).
However, in the recent times with the advancements in the fields of science and technology the
attitude as well as the perception of the people have undergone a significant amount of change
(Hungerford et al., 2018). The net result of this is that the different forms of mental illnesses are

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ZAKIEH RASOULI, COUN1103 MENTAL HEALTH
no longer seen as a representation of evils but as the manifestation of diverse mental issues that
the individuals which the individuals are facing just like the other forms of illness.
The change in the perception of the people had been greatly brought about by the ‘Fifth
National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan’, ‘National Mental Health Policy’ (2008)
and other initiatives of the national government of Australia. For example, the ‘National Mental
Health Policy 2008’ intends to provide a strategic vision for the effective implementation of
different government reforms regarding the mental health in Australia (Health.gov.au, 2019).
Instead, the ‘Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan’ intended to implement
new reforms for the reduction of suicides undertaken by the mental health patients brought in by
stigma or discrimination that the mental illness patients had to face (Health.gov.au, 2019). In
addition to these, it is seen that the mental health issues like anxiety, clinical depression and
others are among high prevalence in the Australian people whereas the mental health issues of
schizophrenia and others are less in prevalence. As a matter of fact, as per the Beyondblue.org.au
(2019) more than 45% of the people in Australia suffer from one form of mental illness or the
other. Clinical depression is one of the major forms of mental illnesses that afflicts the majority
of the people in Australia (Taubman et al., 2019). As a matter of fact, it is seen that depression is
the 3rd most prominent mental health issue in Australia and is usually accompanied by intense as
well as regular periods of sadness, mood swings, low feeling for prolonged periods of time
without any apparent cause (Health.gov.au, 2019).
People suffering from depression and other forms of mental illnesses had to face various
kinds of discrimination as well as stigma within the society Alley et al. (2017). Furthermore, it is
seen till now any substantial measuring tool had not been developed for the measurement of
discrimination or stigma faced by the individuals. More importantly, it is seen that these

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ZAKIEH RASOULI, COUN1103 MENTAL HEALTH
discriminations and stigmas are not just associated with societal behaviours or individual
behaviours but extent to other walks of life as well (Fulford et al., 2016). For example, it is seen
that the people suffering from depression are being looked down upon in their workplaces and
also had to face unjust treatment and adequate amount or number of growth opportunities are not
being offered to them. In addition to this, the people suffering from depression or other forms of
mental health issues are generally being seen as retards which is actually not true and thereby
ostracised from the main stream of population (Wong et al., 2018). In this regard, it needs to be
said that the individuals suffering from the problem of mental illness are generally being looked
down upon by the people and rather than seen as suffering from some kind of disease are seen as
mentally retarded. Needless to say, that the treatment which these individuals have to face is very
different from the kind of treatment that the people suffering from other kinds of physical or
health problems have to face within the societal framework of Australia. Furthermore, it is seen
that many times people start to show undue or uncalled for sympathy for these people and this in
turn affects their psychology or mental wellbeing in a significant manner. The net result of this is
that the people suffering from various kinds of mental health issues rather than opening up to
people as well as bonding with them and discuss their problems, start to withdraw from society
and turn to self-destructive measures like substance abuse, suicide and others (Rubio-Valera et
al., 2018). This is perhaps one of the major reasons why ‘12.5 per 100,000’ suffering from
mental health issues commit suicide because of the lack of support as well as help that they get
from their peers or family members or for that matter from the society and also the stigma or
discrimination that they have to face (Health.gov.au, 2019).
Mental health issues are just like any other disease and the people suffering from it need
the support as well as medical attention that the people suffering from other diseases need opined