Examples Of Stigma In Mental Health

Because of the collectivist orientation in the African American community, individuals rely heavily on community opinion as a determinant of appropriate and inappropriate courses of action (Sellers et al., 1998). In general negative descriptions are credited to those who suffer mental illness. Cultural identity (Tata & Leong, 1994), cultural mistrust (Nickerson,Helms,&Terrell,1994),and cultural commitment (Price & McNeill, 1992) have been linked with factors such as attitudes toward seeking help, tolerance for the stigma associated with seeking help, and being open to talking about problems with a

Stigmatization of mental illness existed well before psychiatry became a formal discipline, but was not formally labeled and defined as a societal problem until the publication of Goffman’s book (1963). Mental illnesses are among the most stigmatizing conditions, regardless of the specific psychiatric diagnosis. Unlike other illnesses, mental illness is still considered by some to be a sign of weakness, as well as a source of shame and disgrace. Many psychiatric patients are concerned about how people will view them if knowledge of their condition becomes public Mental health stigma can be divided into two distinct types: • social stigma is characterized by prejudicial attitudes and discriminating behavior directed towards individuals with mental health problems as a result of the psychiatric label they have been given and has those types stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination Stereotypes are based on knowledge available to members of a group and provide a way to categorize information about other groups in society Prejudiced persons agree with these negative stereotypes, and these attitudes lead to discrimination through negative behaviors toward mentally ill individuals those negative perceptions create fear of and social distance from mentally ill persons. • perceived stigma or

The research on Methadone addiction related stigma suggests, the multiple sources of stigma can lead patients to find their own unhealthy ways of coping leaving them possibly untreated (Earnshaw et. al,

However, perceived isolation allows people to feel loneliness, stressed out, and have mental problems. Perceived isolation will also affect physical health through its impact on mental health. In the article, “Social Disconnectedness, Perceived Isolation, and Health among Older Adults,” Erin York Cornwell explains, “Results indicate that social disconnectedness and perceived isolation are independently associated with lower levels of self-rated physical health. However, the association between disconnectedness and mental health may operate through strong relationship between perceived isolation and mental health.” This shows how in society today people will be mentally impacted and later physical health will partake. Additionally, isolation is dangerous for the brain and causes the body to react awfully.

People in this dystopian society are handicapped mentally and physically and when someone decides to rebel they are met with grave consequences. Both Fahrenheit 451 and Harrison Bergeron show us that the censorship of knowledge and thoughts has a negative impact on individuals and society. However Fahrenheit 451 emphasizes more How society gets antisocial without books. While Harrison Bergeron targets more the negative effects of no competition. Both Fahrenheit 451 and Harrison Bergeron show us that the

These stereotypes are generalization relating to the diversity of a individuals identity which may be translated into destructive and oppressive behaviors and attitudes due to race or ethnicicty,for example women being paranoid and keeping her belongings to herself at the sight of a black man. Although oppression on an individual can affect self-esteem and mental health, it is oppression on an institutional level that poses a threat as it can lead to difficulty in the access of education, health care and legal system. Baines provide a definition of oppression, “oppression takes place when a person acts or a policy is enacted unjustly against an individual or group... depriving people of … basic human rights.” The undermining of oppressive attitudes such as racism within society is critical to the level of access of health resources to those disadvantaged groups, especially in regard to indigenous children. Iindigenous children suffer immensely from oppression, as they are born into a world where they are systematically disadvantages due to the poor quality of life of their parents led as a result of unemployment, inadequate housing, education etc. Due to racism, the cycle experienced by their parents repeats with them, as they experience poor opportunities to education, subsequently growing up into disadvantage adults with little access to health.

The wounds left this act usually psychological, but can take serous physical toll as well. The cumulative effects of being a victim of discrimination puts in the category of a chronic stressor. In his article “Does Religion Buffer the Effects of Discrimination on Mental Health? Differing Effects by Race” Alex Biermann states that discrimination is chronic because they are more longstanding and frequent”. Biermann explains that even micro aggressions accumulated can wear on an individual’s psyche and may lead to mental health problems.

Despite the progress in understanding the causes of mental illness and the tremendous advances in finding effective mental health treatments, far less is known about the mental health of minorities. Race, ethnicity, culture, language, geographic region, and other social factors affect the perception, availability, utilization, and, potentially, the outcomes of mental health services. Across racial and ethnic groups, a significant financial barrier also greatly affects mental health and the path to getting needed mental health care. Every society influences mental health treatment by how it organizes, delivers, and pays for mental health services. Therefore the provision of high quality, culturally and language appropriate mental health services, in locations accessible to racial and ethnic minorities, is essential to creating a more equitable

Another factor is the stigma that many cultures attach to mental health issues. In some cultures, being open about mental health struggles can lead to “social isolation and social sanctions” (Chaze, Thomson, George, & Guruge, 2015, p.96) Many immigrants are also used to seeing mental health issues as a weakness and fear not being able to trust anyone with their issues (Chaze et al., 2015, p.96). Low levels of English proficiency and the stigma that is attached to mental health are two of the many causes of low levels of mental health literacy among the immigrant population. Mental health literacy can be defined as “the ability to seek information, learn, appraise, make decisions, communicate information, prevent diseases and promote individual, family and community health” (Simich, 2010, p.17). The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, as cited by Simich (2010) “has identified immigrants as a priority group for mental health literacy interventions”

Questioning the Incomprehensible Mental illness is defined as health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behavior (or a combination of these) (American Psychiatric Association). There are different types of depression and they effect people differently also. With major depression working, sleeping, eating and spending time with friends and family becomes difficult to do because there is the constant feeling of hopelessness. Seeing that I have family and friends who suffer from depression, I wanted to learn more and see why people who are depressed think the way they do, what goes on inside their head to make them feel hopeless and if medication is the only way to help deal with depression even though for some people medicine doesn’t fully help them. What is the science behind depression and what makes a person’s brain chemistry without depression different from someone who suffer with depression?