What is Mental Illness Stigma and Why Does it Hurt?
People who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses (i.e., depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, and developmental disorders) often have to live virtually in silence about their illnesses. They are afraid to talk to other people about their mental illnesses simply because they may be avoided or even worse, the subject of discriminatory practices. People are often perceived and treated differently if they have mental illnesses and are not afforded similar opportunities in life simply because of these mental illnesses. For instance, some employers will not hire people if they have knowledge about the applicants' mental illnesses. Others who rent may deny housing privileges to people due to their mental illnesses. While others may simply AVOID any contact with people if they perceive mental illness is behind a person's behavior (i.e., talking to oneself, erratic behavior, delusional speech). Ultimately, some people find it difficult to maintain a positive self image when faced with the challenges and it "hurts".
The stigma of mental illness involves both a private (self thinking) component and a public component. A researcher by the name of Patrick Corrigan has written about the stigma of mental illness and provides an easy description of it.
Taken from:
Corrigan P. (Ed.). (2005). On the stigma of mental illness: Practice strategies for research and social change. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, p. 16.
Information from the 1 Credit College Course I taught entitled, "Reducing Mental Illness Stigma"
The syllabus is here: IU193SyllabusFall07.doc
I used some PowerPoint Slides and they are listed below:
Here are some handouts I used in Microsoft Word 2003:
Why Train for Mental Health First Aid - Australia
Famous People with MentalI llness
Magic of the Geel Community - Located in Belgium
Shadow Voices Video - About It
Some Great Websites on Mental Illnesses
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A FRIEND MAKES, http://www.whatadifference.samhsa.gov/index.html
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminstration (SAMSHA), the U.S. government agency devoted this website to young adults between 18 and 25 years. The website is now running and contains some excellent tips on how to talk to a friend with mental illness in order to reduce the stigma associated with having the diagnosis. This is becoming an excellent website.
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL, COLLEGE HEALTH AND SAFETY, http://www.cdc.gov/family/college/
The CDC has provide an excellent webpage for college students in managing their stress and health. It has several suggestions and links to developing healthy friendships, healthy eating, tips on sleeping well, eating disorders, suicide prevention, depression, sexual violence in relationships, alcohol and substance use issues, STDs, and trying to think positively. I highly recommend this website.
OF LIKE MINDS, http://www.oflikeminds.com/index.htm
A website for both helpers and people diagnosed with mood and/or anxiety disorders. It contains helpful information on a broad spectrum of topics from how to help someone with a mental illness to what is ECT.
ACTIVE MINDS ON CAMPUS, http://www.activemindsoncampus.org/
Active Minds is the nation's only peer-to-peer organization dedicated to raising awareness about mental health among college students. The organization serves as the young adult voice in mental health advocacy on over one hundred college campuses nationwide.
MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA, http://www.nmha.org/
Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) is the country’s leading nonprofit dedicated to helping ALL people live mentally healthier lives.
NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS, http://www.nami.org/
NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families.
HELP GUIDE.ORG , http://www.helpguide.org
Helpguide was created in 1999 by the Rotary Club of Santa Monica with active participation by Rotarians Robert and Jeanne Segal following the tragic suicide of their daughter Morgan. Since then, a dedicated team of talented people have collaborated to create a free, non-commercial resource for people in need. INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES TO NUTRITION AND SLEEP ISSUES.
NAMI ARIZONA, http://www.namiaz.org/mentalhealthinformationalbrochuresandmore.html
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Arizona has some links to excellent brochures on the various mental illnesses many people have questions about, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorders, Dual Diagnoses, Schizophrenia, Borderline Personality Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder and others. These brochures are also available in Spanish.
SANE Australia, http://www.sane.org/information/information/factsheets.html
This is a link to an Australian website, a non-profit, nongovernmental organization that has been around since 1985. SANE Australia is a national charity working for a better life for people affected by mental illness through: campaigns, education, and research. The link provided is to the fact sheets. They are excellent and include topics on many mental illnesses, ECT, smoking and mental illness, and many others.
FAMILIES FOR DEPRESSION AWARENESS, http://www.familyaware.org/index.php
Families for Depression Awareness helps families recognize and cope with depressive disorders to get people well and prevent suicides. It contains information on how people, family members or FRIENDS, can help a loved one get help, acquire knowledge, and get support from people who share similar life experiences.
Recent Book Recommendations
Behind Happy Faces (2007) by Ross Szabo and Melanie Hall, a website link is http://www.behindhappyfaces.com/
A practical book on mental illnesses common among young adults written in a down-to-earth fashion. What to do to avoid hiding behind the "happy face".
The Center Cannot Hold (2007) by Elyn R. Saks, see the website at http://mylaw.usc.edu/blog/index.cfm
This is an awesome memoir about Saks journey from adolescence to adulthood in managing schizophrenia while accomplishing a career in law. She is a professor of law at University of Southern California Gould School of Law. She describes the psychiatric treatment in hospitals while living in the UK and in the US--some very poignant differences.
Some Scholarly Readings on the Stigma of Mental Illness
American Psychiatric Association. (2006). College mental health statistics. Retrieved May 1, 2006 from http://www.healthyminds.org/collegestats.cfm.
Barnes, H. (2004). Social exclusion and psychosis: Exploring some of the links and possible implications for practice. Social Work in Mental Health, 2(2/3), 207-233
Byrne, P. (2000). Stigma of mental illness and ways of diminishing it. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 6, 65-72.
Corrigan, P. (2004). How stigma interferes with mental health care. American Psychologist, 59(7), 614-625.
Corrigan, P. W., & Miller, F. E. (2004). Shame, blame, and contamination: A review of the impact of mental illness stigma on family members. Journal of Mental Health, 13(6), 537-548.
Estroff, S. E., Penn, D. L., & Toporek, J. R. (2004). From stigma to discrimination: An analysis of community efforts to reduce the negative consequences of having a psychiatric disorder and label. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 30(3), 493-509.
Fisher, D. & Ahern, L. (2006). People can recover from mental illness. Retrieved August 16, 2006 from the National Empowerment Center Website: http://www.power2u.org/articles/recovery/people_can.html.
Frey, L. J., Tobin, J., & Beesley, D. (2004). Relational predictors of psychological distress in women and men presenting for university counseling center services. Journal of College Counseling, 7, 129-139.
Hardina, D. (2005). Ten characteristics of empowerment-oriented social service organizations. Administration in Social Work, 29(3), 23-42.
Hecht, D. (1999). Peer help through service: Learned helpfulness. Social Policy, 30(1), 34-41.
Kadison, R. (2006). College psychiatry 2006: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of American College Health, 54(6), 338-340.
Kitchener, B. A., & Jorm, A. F. (2005). Mental health first aid training: Review of evaluation studies. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 6-8.
Kitchener, B., & Jorm, A. (2002). Mental health first aid manual. Centre for Mental Health Research, Canberra. Retrieved December 8, 2005, from http://www.mhfa.com.au/course_manual.htm.
Link, B. G., Yang, L. H., Phelan, J. C., & Collins, P. Y. (2004). Measuring mental illness stigma. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 30(3), 511-541.
McKinney, K. (2006). Initial Evaluation of Active Minds: The stigma of mental illness and willingness of college students to seek professional help. Unpublished master's thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. ( Available here.--it is in .pdf format and you may need to right click the hot link and save it your computer prior to opening).
Mowbray, C. T., Megivern, D., Mandiberg, J. M., Strauss, S., Stein, C. H., Collins, K., Kopels, S., Curlin, C., & Lett, R. (2006). Campus mental health services: Recommendations for change. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(2), 226-237.
National Institutes of Mental Health. (2006). The numbers count: Mental disorders in America. (NIMH publication NO. 06-4504). Bethesda, MD: Author.
National Institutes of Mental Health. (2003). In harm’s way: Suicide in America (NIMH publication No. 03-4594). Bethesda, MD: Author.
Norman, R. M. G., Malla, A. K., Manchanda, R., Harricharan, R., Takhar, J., & Northcott, S. (2005). Social support and three-year symptom and admission outcomes for first episode psychosis. Schizophrenia Research, 80, 227-234.
Rose, S. M. (2000). Reflections on empowerment-based practice. Social Work, 45(5), 403-412.
Solomon, P. (2004). Peer support/peer provided services underlying processes, benefits, and critical ingredients. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 27(4), 392-401.
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