When the realisation of my inactivity with my followers cracked open (So I’ve had a ridiculously long period of writer’s block; hence no posts or social media interaction in over 2 months. I’m sorry about that by the way) I figured, perhaps my next post should be less about me but rather more sharp-edged and informational.

Irrespective of being severely numb, irrational, anxious, irritable and having overall repetitive thoughts marked by sorrow and feelings of extreme melancholy, contemptuous pity and lacking rational and orderly relationships to human life; I would utilize my utmost energy, time, efforts and resources toward making the public aware of the perplexity surrounding the predicament of stigma.

The Ugly Truth

Many of the people I came across this time around were hospitalised for episodes brought on by societal stigma gone bad beyond repair. This mentally separated them, like me, from conforming to the necessary standards of life, deregulating their ways of living in turn. The one lady was hospitalised because her 3 children called her a ‘druggie’ (Yep, said by the seeds of her loins, what a disappointment) for taking medication to assist stabilise her depression and shunned her as a means to “Prove a point” she said.

The other lady I shared a room with for about a week or so was hospitalised because of stigma in the workplace. This was accompanied by sexual harassment from her boss, just because he felt like it. “I disclosed my diagnoses and that’s where I think I made the mistake” she said. She is currently diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and Frontal Lobe Epilepsy.

The one guy was in there because his wife stigmatised and abused him. About half the older women were hospitalised due to the behaviours of their abusive, narcissistic, and mostly sadistic husbands/ex-husbands. Most of the kids were in there because of parental negligence resulting in instances of rape and teenage pregnancy to mention the least. According to my analysis, we all had problems with boundaries and stigma one way or another. We were the identified patients in each of our communities.

What Is Stigma?

Stigma is a Greek word originated in the late 16th century. It referred to a mark and/or wound of disgrace made on one’s skin to identify them as slaves, traitors or criminals. For the most part, stigma is a social process which can be defined as the beliefs, attitudes and reaction that lead to people being avoided, rejected or feared because of the perception that they are different. Stigma naturally tends to go hand in hand with discrimination which is prejudice derived from preconceived opinions based on false information and reason.

What Implications Does Stigma Have?

It is unfortunate to say that mental illness stigma is common in society and not much is done about this fact. Stigma can have harsh and potent effects for those affected by discrimination in the workplace. This is usually a result of the limited knowledge the society has on mental illness facts.

The misconceptions accumulated by the society result in many of the diagnosed persons being treated unethically and put at disadvantages depending on their diagnosis. This can include being treated as though they are stupid and thought less of, being verbally and physically abused, and being deprived of their civil rights.

The Types Of Stigma

There are various types of stigma. Below are a few types mostly exerting negative influence and perhaps posing problems which are hard to manage and overcome in this day and age:

1. Anticipated Stigma:

This is a type of stigma where the diagnosed individual expects to be thought less of, devalued and criticised because of his chronic illness. He automatically believes that prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination will come his way as he is different to others. This affects his mental and physical well-being in the long run.

2. Enacted Stigma:

This type of stigma refers to how others actively discriminate the diagnosed indivisuals on the grounds that they are ‘not normal’, ‘imperfect’ and ‘not good enough to belong’.

3. Internalised Stigma:

Internalised stigma is referred to as the process where the diagnosed individual believes and is endorsed in the negative attitudes and behaviour passed on by others. This causes low self-esteem, reduced sense and ability of the control the he has on personal pain as well as the belief that he is less likely to succeed in specific situations.

4. Perpetrator Stigma:

This refers to the stigma coming directly from the enforcer/culprit responsible for the stigmatization of the diagnosed individual. It may include, in addition to stigmatising messages; psychological abuse, verbal abuse and/or emotional abuse.

5. Cultural Stigma:

This refers to the ideologies that diminish or destroy the experiences the diagnosed has encountered. This goes together with the way that society’s negative beliefs and stereotypes influence the diagnosed individual’s experiences of the stigmatisation suffered at both individual levels and the relations between other people.

Stigma And Mental Illness

According to some health experts, the perception the general public has on mental illness varies depending on what type of disorder you have.

It is more likely for a person with an eating disorder like obesity to be stigmatised because apparently weight gain isn’t “physically attractive” and other nonsensical reasons. It is more likely for a person who suffers from anxiety or depression to be less stigmatised than a person diagnosed with a psychotic disorder like schizophrenia. Most people identify anxiety and depression with stress but schizophrenia? A taboo topic.

The Effects Of Stigma

According to the World Health Organisation around 400 million people worldwide are affected by mental disorders. This makes mental disorders one of the leading disability. This narrows down to the statistic that 1 in 4 of people in the world will suffer from a mental disorder or a neurological disorder at some point in their lives.

Discrimination, stigma, as well as neglect hinder the treatment/s the diagnosed individual may have to better the quality of their lives. Nearly two thirds of people suffering with mental disorders never seek help for various reasons. Certain communities and tribes distinguish mental illness with weakness and ostracise or potentially ostracise the ill.

Some work environments would rather not have the mentally ill employed as they may be inadequate at their daily tasks. It’s no surprise the diagnosed would rather not disclose their conditions. In fact, it is said that people who suffer from mental illness prefer to disclose information about a crime they’ve committed, if any, than to admit they were hospitalised in a psychiatric hospital.

The Media?

This may sound far fetched but in my opinion the media is partly responsible for increasing the rate of mental health stigma and discrimination. In most television shows and movies for instance, the mentally ill are most often seen as homicidal and psychotic maniacs who are feared by most. They are often irresponsible and childlike or have mental illness as a result of their weakness. Honestly this portrayal is completely wrong, apart from not portraying mental conditions as what they really are and the symptom each condition has.

A simple example of this is Electroconvulsive Therapy (Shock Therapy). In most movies patients are usually dragged to the therapy room unwillingly. They are then strapped down to the bed and shocked at ridiculous lengths. Some patients pass out or die after the shock. Of course all of them are in an asylum where everyone is completely out of it, cannot comprehend what is and what isn’t or can barely groom themselves in extreme cases. This has contributed to the way society sees mental illness and psychiatric institutions. And then you wonder why people keep their conditions secret.

Now, the truth is this would never happen in reality. In fact, ECT is a safe process. It’s mainly used on patients who suffer from severe depression as well as deep depression in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder or even Bipolar Disorder to mention the least.

The process is carefully planned out so the patient experiences no sort of pain whatsoever:

• There are planned out sessions of between 6-8 or 10 depending on how the patient reacts to the treatment
• The patient is treated in a 1 day on and 1 day off routine to make certain the brain rests accordingly
• The patient is put under anesthetic
• The shock is either unilateral (a mini shock on one side of the head) or bilateral (a shock on both sides of the head)
• The unilateral shock is what most doctors prefer to use as the memory loss, if any, is less sever to that of a bilateral shock.
• A seizure needs to occur in order for the entire process to be successful. It needs to be, at least, longer than 25 seconds depending on the weight
• The patient thereafter gets 2 weeks of recovery (mainly for the purpose of recovering memory loss, if any).

What Can I Do To Play A Positive Role?

How can you stop stigma if you don’t have your facts right ? Will you manage to support the affected if you don’t know what it means to be mentally ill? How can you stop additional pain to a person already carrying burdens that are beyond his control?

Education is key to almost every aspect of life. You can never go wrong with the knowledge of correct and accurate facts, not a tiny bit. With this being said, we need to stand to stigma, fight our way through in order to keep our raised voices heard. But how do I do that?

11 Ways to fight stigma:

• Educate yourself in order to have the ability to educate others
• Make sure you’ve got the facts right. It’ll make it easier to choose your words wisely before you utter anything else
• Watch your language
• Open up and talk about mental health, don’t stay silent
• Put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re about to judge (not so nice huh?)
• Acknowledge mental illness as you do physical disabilities, both are worthy of equality
• Support empowerment and not shame
• Challenge media
• Don’t exclude anyone. You weren’t hand picked by some higher authority to deny any human being of his civil rights
• Create a support structure in order to create a collective voice. Treat people with respect, dignity and accept them for who they are
• If you haven’t anything positive to say then perhaps you should keep shut (No offence)

What next?

It’s essential for each and everyone of us to remember we are all humans and therefore none of us should be robbed of our access to equal human rights. We all deserve opportunities that will enhance our quality of life. You matter, I matter, we all matter.

Some positive words:

“Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us”
-Nicole Reed