Mental Health and the Stigma

What is Stigma?[edit | edit source]

Stigma was defined by Crocker and colleagues[1] as ''Stigmatized individuals possess (or are believed to possess) some attribute, or characteristic, that conveys a social identity that is devalued in a particular social context.’’ Simply, stigma is a way of negative judgement associated with certain charatersistics/conditions, develops on a social level and not specific to a person[2].

Stigmatization is a complex phenomenon that has political and social influences

The Impact of Stigma on People with Mental Illness[edit | edit source]

Higher level of cortisol and depression were found between stigmatized people. those who stigmatize have feelings of disgust[3].

Stigma in healthcare can affect decision making, healthcare professional communication and interaction with patient, biased judgements, it can create a barrier between healthcare providers and the stigmatized person and lower their trust[4].

People with mental illness face both the challenge of the disease along with the sterotype and other's judgmental thoughts. The public stigma is not the only type of stigma these people are dealing with, there is also the self-stigmatization[5].

Tackling the Issue[edit | edit source]

Understanding socio-political factors.

Developing conciousnsness and awarness to avoid stigma[2].

Resources[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Crocker J, Major B, Steele C. Social stigma: the psychology of marked relationships. The handbook of social psychology. 1998;2:504-53.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Setchell J. What Has Stigma Got to Do with Physiotherapy?.
  3. O’Brien KS, Daníelsdóttir S, Ólafsson RP, Hansdóttir I, Fridjónsdóttir TG, Jónsdóttir H. The relationship between physical appearance concerns, disgust, and anti-fat prejudice. Body Image. 2013 Sep 1;10(4):619-23.
  4. Phelan SM, Burgess DJ, Yeazel MW, Hellerstedt WL, Griffin JM, van Ryn M. Impact of weight bias and stigma on quality of care and outcomes for patients with obesity. Obesity Reviews. 2015 Apr;16(4):319-26.
  5. Corrigan PW, Watson AC. Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. World psychiatry. 2002 Feb;1(1):16.