The Impact of Mental Health Stigma on Nursing Professionals

This essay explores the pervasive issue of stigma related to mental health, particularly within the context of nursing. It highlights the detrimental effects of stigma on individuals suffering from mental disorders, including feelings of shame, discrimination, and reluctance to seek help. The author emphasizes the critical role of nurses in addressing this stigma, advocating for increased awareness, education, and compassionate care. The essay discusses the need for nurses to understand mental health issues, provide support to patients, and advocate for changes in nursing curriculum to better prepare future professionals. Furthermore, it underscores the importance of nurses in early detection of personality changes and in promoting patient comfort and adherence to treatment. The essay references several studies to support its arguments, emphasizing the alarming increase in suicide and depression rates, and calls for collective efforts to improve mental health care and reduce stigma globally. It also highlights the significance of family involvement and the need for more experienced health professionals in the field.

Running head: Stigma related to mental health
Stigma related to mental health
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Authors notes:

1STIGMA RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH
Mental health is an important issue, which is neglected globally, and this neglect has
resulted in depression and unhappiness among every age groups. There is no such diagnostic
process for the mental disorder and often goes undetected. There is a lack of awareness in the
field of mental health to make a person approach a particular health specialist. To many
people depression or any other disorder is a form of stigma and they feel ashamed to address
it due to lack of knowledge (Thornicroft et al ., 2016). Exclusion and discrimination are
related to mental health adding to the difficulty of the patients to recover.
It seems to me that there is lack of availability of treatments for mentally affected
patients. It is often seen that people seeking help is ridiculed and not understood, this leads
them to confusion and anxiety. It is reported that one in ten persons is affected by mental
disorder seriously. In normal person also anxiety and depression occurs which needs
expertise care (Schomerus et al ., 2016). The negative effect of people and their lack of
distinguishing the illness is the reason behind the stigma and social awkwardness. The self-
esteem and personality is hurt of the patient more when the person is ridiculed by others.
I think it is important to understand the mental issue first to address it and then go for
treatment; this can be done only by expertise of health professionals like psychologists.
Nurses are also important part because they understand the nature of the disease and thus our
intervention can give the appropriate care to the patient. As nurses we can give support to the
psychologists for their interventions in treating the patient (Clement et al ., 2015). Many
suffering from severe mental illness which results in decrease in function of physiological
organs like eating disorder or weak appetite. In these cases, nurses will be able to initiate
appropriate care and help in medications. Nurses have the knowledge to handle such patients
and make them understand about the medications for the cure.
In my opinion the nurses can work with the full team and make a significant changes
in the progress of the patients health. There is no such specific treatment for mental health

2STIGMA RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH
and varies between patients so it is the responsibility of the nurse to make the patient
comfortable and give the person specific treatment. It is often seen that the patient is in
reluctant to divulge details about their illness or undergo full treatment due to the stigma
attached. Therefore, the nurses can influence their thoughts by proper counselling. It is also
the responsibility of nurses to detect the personality changes because due to lack of education
the patient may suffer but still be neglecting the changes (Knaak, Mantler & Szeto, 2017).
The nurses’ play a key role in awareness related to the mental health issue and may bring in
positive change with their advanced knowledge and expertise.
It is my understanding that the issue is alarming and there must be positive changes
brought in to improve the condition of affected. The first thing that can be done is to involve
the people because family members can increase the conditions of the patient. Awareness is
also lacking the reason for stigma attached, as people do not know the consequences and
effects of mental health disorders. There is a dearth of experienced health professionals in the
field of mental health, thus if the number increases there may be some improvement in the
situation. The nursing curriculum must put special emphasis on mental health studies and
related interventions, which can help in the patients treatment.
As I see it is the increasing awareness that may help to get rid of stigma and make the
issue globally relevant. The data related to suicide and depression says that the number is
increasing day by day so if we do not pay attention it may reach an alarming rate and affect
everyone globally (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). Depression is a silent killer, which has the
potential to go undetected and has direct effect on the body. Nurses are required to take part
in decision-making process with other health specialist and collectively work for mental
health related illness. Mental illness has no specific treatment or diagnostic procedure so
therefore it is the expertise of health specialist to understand both the illness and the sufferer.

3STIGMA RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH
Therefore, we may argue that nursing interventions play an important role in cure of mental
health and to keep the sigma away from it.

4STIGMA RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH
References
Clement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F., Evans-Lacko, S., Bezborodovs, N., ...
& Thornicroft, G. (2015). What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help-
seeking? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies. Psychological
medicine, 45(1), 11-27.
Knaak, S., Mantler, E., & Szeto, A. (2017, March). Mental illness-related stigma in
healthcare: Barriers to access and care and evidence-based solutions. In Healthcare
management forum (Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 111-116). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE
Publications.
Schomerus, G., Angermeyer, M. C., Baumeister, S. E., Stolzenburg, S., Link, B. G., &
Phelan, J. C. (2016). An online intervention using information on the mental health-
mental illness continuum to reduce stigma. European Psychiatry, 32, 21-27.
Thornicroft, G., Mehta, N., Clement, S., Evans-Lacko, S., Doherty, M., Rose, D., ... &
Henderson, C. (2016). Evidence for effective interventions to reduce mental-health-
related stigma and discrimination. The Lancet, 387(10023), 1123-1132.
Townsend, M. C., & Morgan, K. I. (2017). Psychiatric mental health nursing: Concepts of
care in evidence-based practice. FA Davis.
Yesufu-Udechuku, A., Harrison, B., Mayo-Wilson, E., Young, N., Woodhams, P., Shiers, D.,
... & Kendall, T. (2015). Interventions to improve the experience of caring for people
with severe mental illness: systematic review and meta-analysis. The British Journal
of Psychiatry, 206(4), 268-274.