Mental health awareness and the acceptance of mental health issues is a recent phenomenon. According to a survey done by the APA, 87% of Americans agree having a mental health disorder is nothing to be ashamed of, while 86% believed mental health disorders can be resolved (APA, 2019). Today, anxiety and depression are two mental health disorders that are commonly spoken about and are encouraged to seek help for. However, it did not begin this way and still today mental health issues can be highly stigmatized.
To give some history, mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and bi-polar disorder were known as hysteria, shell shock, psychosis, and even demonic possession (Baton Rouge Behavioral Hospital, 2022). During the 16th century most mental health issues were seen as an absence of God and religion, and at this time religion was of the highest importance. This is when and how the negative attitudes about mental health disorders began emerging. During this time cures for mental disorder involved intense surgeries such as lobotomy, exorcisms, or isolation from society such as, jail (Baton Rouge Behavioral Hospital, 2022). Society developed negative attitudes towards those suffering from mental disorders (that carried over until today) believing they were crazy or other-worldly (Baton Rouge Behavioral Hospital, 2022).
Today’s media does an awful job on helping ease the stigma on the mental health disorders. Often, when you come across mental health in the media its portrayed to the extreme and is very negative. For example, the media depicts those with schizophrenia as asylum ridden when in fact if schizophrenia is treated and managed correctly, most people can live normal, productive, and fulfilling lives just as you and I. But because of the long history of the mental health stigma, it has left a lasting impression on society and different culture. Many cultures do not allow conversations surrounding mental health as they perceive it as being weak and unacceptable (Mental First Aid Health USA, 2019).
Most people allow the stigmas surrounding mental health disorders to live on because it is easier than having to expand extra effort in understanding someone’s differences and accepting them. Thibaut and Kelley explain this as the social exchange theory, where people are calculating the rewards versus the cost of an action and go with the action that provides the most rewards (Gruman et al., 2017). So how can make the stigma surrounding mental health issues more costly and education more rewarding? The Tennessee Department of Mental Health suggest the best way to reduce stigmas is to speak openly about mental health in a positive way, educate yourself and others, respond to misperceptions or negative comments by sharing facts and experiences, and to be conscious of language (TN Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, n.d). It is also important to know through education more people can discover, diagnosis and treat mental illnesses. According to the CDC, mental illnesses are among the most common health conditions in the United States with more than 50% of people being diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their lifetime (CDC, 2021). If more people are aware of how common mental health disorders are understanding someone’s differences will be more rewarding than costly, helping reduce the stigma.
References
American Psychological Association. (2019, May). Survey: Americans becoming more open about Mental Health. American Psychological Association. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/mental-health-survey
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, June 28). About mental health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm#:~:text=Mental%20illnesses%20are%20among%20the,some%20point%20in%20their%20lifetime.&text=1%20in%205%20Americans%20will,illness%20in%20a%20given%20year.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE.
Kapil, R. (2019, July 11). Four ways culture impacts mental health. Mental Health First Aid. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/2019/07/four-ways-culture-impacts-mental-health/
Reducing stigma. Tennessee State Government – TN.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.tn.gov/behavioral-health/stigma.html#:~:text=Easy%20Ways%20You%20Can%20Reduce%20Stigma,-The%20National%20Alliance&text=Talk%20openly%20about%20mental%20health,remind%20people%20that%20words%20matter.
The surprising history of mental illness treatment. Baton Rouge Behavioral Hospital. (2020, April 2). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://batonrougebehavioral.com/the-surprising-history-of-mental-illness-treatment/
This was a well-written blog post! I found your topic particularly important because mental health issues are not something that occurs rarely—many people experience or live with these issues. I agree that even though mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety are much more socially accepted, and more people are encouraged to seek help than before, there is still a strong stigma against people with mental health disorders. Studies have found that the stigma against mental disorders hinders them from having adequate housing, employment, and socialization opportunities (Torrey, 2011). At the same time, many studies on the stigmatization of mental health disorders have revealed that people tend to perceive mentally ill people as behaving violently or dangerously, a conception that is actually untrue (Torrey, 2011). I enjoyed reading your post, and thank you for sharing!
References
E. Fuller Torrey, Stigma and Violence: Isn’t It Time to Connect the Dots?, Schizophrenia Bulletin, Volume 37, Issue 5, September 2011, Pages 892–896, https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbr057