A number of celebrities have committed suicide in the last several months. This has turned the spotlight to the topic of mental illness. While I wish the suicides hadn’t happened, it is a good thing that people are thinking about and talking about mental illness. Why is this?
Mental illnesses carry a stigma that most physical conditions don’t. Though mental illnesses are just as real as physical illnesses, those who suffer from them are often blamed for their conditions and thought of as mentally weak. Many of the conditions are poorly understood (sometimes even by physicians) and they leave those who suffer from them feeling isolated.
It’s critically important that we eliminate this stigma in our society. This will likely never happen until we address it in the more intimate settings of our families, neighborhoods, and communities. Here are five ways we can work to eliminate the stigma in these settings.
Ways to reduce the stigma of mental illness
- Talk about mental health. If we don’t talk about mental health, then our silence affirms the notion that mental health topics are taboo and that mental illnesses are somehow different from other health topics that we do talk about (breast cancer, asthma, migraines, etc.). This means that individuals who suffer from mental illness must continue to bravely share with family members and friends about their conditions. Likewise, all of us need to talk about mental health in general (stress management, body image, handling grief, etc.).
- Be careful with language use. Many of us use casual (and highly inaccurate) references to mental health in our everyday lives (“you’re a lunatic,” “that’s retarded,” “he’s a basket case,” etc.). We need to give some thought to what these terms truly mean and then choose more accurate and less offensive terms.
- Join a support group. Many local and national organizations (such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness) provide support groups for individuals who suffer from mental illness and for their families. These groups provide support and encouragement, of course, but they also fight stigma by providing education and preventing isolation (patients and families can connect with others and see that mental illness is quite common).
- Choose entertainment carefully. Many movies promote stereotypes about individuals who suffer from mental illness and/or about the mental health professionals who care for them (Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, Shock, The Snake Pit, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, etc.). It’s important to recognize these stereotypes, point them out to loved ones, and even go to the effort of writing the companies that produce the movies to let them know that their portrayals are inaccurate and potentially harmful. We can take similar approaches when we see these stereotypes on TV shows and in books.
- Learn more. There’s a lot of truth in the old adage that knowledge is power. In this case, knowledge provides the power to reduce (and hopefully eliminate) the stigma associated with mental illness. When we learn more about mental illness, we begin to understand that mental illness is just as legitimate as physical illness, that most people who suffer from a mental illness aren’t violent, that mental illness is super common, etc. As we share this knowledge with others, we’ll see stereotypes and stigma begin to disappear.
Before I move on, I want to be sure to state that numerous conditions fall under the umbrella of mental illness. It includes conditions as diverse as depression, PTSD, phobias, schizophrenia, and anorexia nervosa. The term “mental illness,” is so succinct that it seems like it describes a homogeneous group of conditions, but it doesn’t. Every single one of us knows multiple individuals who struggle with mental illness!
Despite my background in public health and nursing, I’m not an expert on this topic. I certainly have a couple of family members who suffer from mental illness, but I know many of you have personal experience and/or have many family members who suffer from various conditions. If this is your experience, then I’d love to hear from you!
How does the stigma of mental illness impact your family? What strategies have helped reduce stigma in your family and among your friends?
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Busy Monday and Over the Moon.
I love this post, Shannon! I completely agree that we need to destigmatize mental illness, and I find it so encouraging that within the past couple years, I’ve noticed more and more people making an effort to publicly discuss this issue. Though, there are still many people hesitant to discuss it-I bring up my recent time in counseling quite casually sometimes in conversations, and some people act very awkward upon hearing just the word “counseling” because it has such a stigma attached to it.
I think it would be very helpful if more insurance companies covered counseling costs, because while some plans offer some coverage, some do not-and if you’re strapped for money and have to choose between choosing to spend a certain amount of money to see a counselor or buy groceries for your family, that may cause many people to not see a mental health professional and get the help that they need.
The insurance issue is a huge problem! Insurance companies have not covered mental healthcare at the same levels they cover regular healthcare for years! I agree that this holds many people back from getting the care they need.
Despite the awkwardness of it, AnneMarie, I’m glad you continue to discuss your time in counseling. I really think this is a key way to reduce the stigma!