Stigma and Mental Illness | Essay

Running head: Stigma and mental illness
Stigma and mental illness
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1
Stigma and mental illness
Many people with severe mental problems are doubly threatened. They are struggling, on
the one side, with the disease-related complications and illnesses and on another side with the
misconceptions and prejudice arising from misunderstandings about mental wellbeing. As a
consequence, they are deprived of the prospects required for better living such as decent
employment, secure homes, adequate education and affiliation with a large community of
persons (Tyszkowska and Podogrodzka 2013). The effect of stigma is twofold: societal stigma,
which is the response of individuals who have mental disorder from the general population; self-
stigma, which is the discrimination that people with mental illness have towards themselves. The
stereotype, prejudice and discrimination are the three pillars of the society and stigma. Social
psychologists perceive stereotypes as extremely effective, social information structures that are
acquired by most participants of the social community. Stigma may be defined at three
psychological levels: emotional, cognitive and behavioural, which helps one to distinguish pure
stereotypes from discrimination and prejudice (Rossler 2016). Stereotypes are societal as they
reflect ideas of classes of people who are mutually settled upon. Mentally ill individuals are more
susceptible towards suffering from stigma. There are a variety of external influences that can
have an effect on the healing process and, at the same period, can be a cause of embarrassment
under some situations. Mentally disabled individuals may gain courage to battle their illness or
the reverse; they may internalize and auto-stigmatize the derogatory behaviours in community.
The patient's family, on the one side, is sometimes the only centre of social reinforcement and,
on the other side; they can also encounter the damaging effect of courtesy-stigma. Psychiatric
disabled people continue to confront societal stigma compounded by stereotypic media reporting
regarding mental illness (Tyszkowska and Podogrodzka 2013).