Assignment 16 - Lydia Klumb

The Harmful Effects of Stigma of Mental Illnesses

Two years ago, I began volunteering for a program called A Chance to Dance. This program helps people with mental illnesses learn how to dance, and provides a space that they feel safe to be themselves without the fear of being judged for something that is out of their control. At the beginning of the first class, I was excited but nervous. I was excited to help people in a new way, but I was nervous to work with people that had mental illnesses. As the class progressed, I got to know the students and realized that I had nothing to worry about. I wondered why I was so nervous to begin with. Looking back, I now realize that the reason I was so apprehensive was because of the stigma I held towards mental illnesses.

So what is stigma? Stigma is a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something. It can be something as little as saying that people who don’t tie their shoes are careless or something as life-altering as saying that everyone diagnosed with a mental illness needs to be put in an asylum. There has been a decrease in mental health stigma over the years. But we can still do better. A mental illnesses is seen by many as a rare and uncommon occurrence, affecting an unlucky few. In reality, one in every five adults in America has a mental illness (National Alliance on Mental Illness). One in five adults are considered part of that “unlucky few.” So why do we continue to make people feel like having a mental illness automatically makes them less of a person? That, because of something out of their control, they can’t be normal or have the same opportunities in life that everyone else has.

Stigma can change the way a person lives their life. For people with mental illnesses, it may be harder to find a job, get a house, receive proper physical health care, and have adequate insurance benefits (Corrigan, “How Stigma Interferes with Mental Health Care."). It can also affect how they view themselves and contribute to self-stigma, an incident where a person with a mental illness understands and agrees with the stigma surrounding them. After hearing the same negative comments and judgements, people with mental illnesses may take these comments to heart and blame themselves for their mental illness, which may lead to decreased self-esteem and confidence (Corrigan, “How Stigma Interferes with Mental Health Care."). Widespread stigma can also cause a person to feel like they have to hide their mental illness. This means that they wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone about what they are going through, and must constantly hide a part of who they are.

Stigma can also cause someone to avoid getting treatment. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 60% of people with a mental illness didn’t receive any mental health services. This means that out of the millions of people struggling with a mental illness, only 40% are getting the help that they need. This needs to change.

The stigma against mental illnesses obviously needs to change, but what can we do? One way to change the way people think of mental illnesses is education. Part of the reason that this stigma exists is because people don’t know anything about mental illnesses or what they are. If people knew what was considered a mental illness, what it was like to live with a mental illness, and how common they really are, it might change the way they think about people that have mental illnesses. Another thing that needs to change is the way mentally ill people are portrayed in the entertainment industry. Hollywood makes people with mental illnesses into horror movie villains and something to be scared of, contributing to their negative images and the stigma surrounding them.

The world would look very different to a large portion of the population if we could decrease the amount of stigma surrounding mental illnesses. One in five American adults would feel more comfortable in their own skin. One in five American adults would feel more included and accepted by the rest of the population. One in five American adults would feel like they are being represented fairly and treated equally.

One in five. Twenty percent. Over 43 million adults. Mental illnesses aren’t some kind of rare occurrence. And the fact that this many people are subjected to unfair treatment because of something out of their control is troubling. It is a prevalent and prominent issue that needs to be addressed. I was nervous during that first day of A Chance to Dance, but after spending time with the students, I realized that I had no need to be. Many of these students have shared that they consider the program a safe place where they feel welcome and accepted, and that it is the highlight of their week. I wonder, what would our world be like if they felt that same sense of welcoming and acceptance everywhere they went?

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