What Is the Stigma Against People with Mental Health Issues?

Have you ever heard of the term “stigma”?

Stigma is a negative view and attitude toward someone for being different from the majority of people in terms of their characteristics, health status, or environment.

In other words, it is a prejudice and discrimination against certain things.

There is also “stigma” toward mental illness and emotional issues.

For example, people judge others based on the idea that “the person is crazy because he/she is seeing a psychiatrist,” “the person is dangerous because he/she is mentally ill,” or “the person is sick because he/she has a weak mind.”

Because of these perceptions, the person is looked at negatively, excluded from the group, and/or is treated negatively.

Such “stigma” often causes the person with mental health concerns to think negatively about themselves as well.

They hesitate to seek help or blame themselves as they think, “I always feel depressed because my mind is weak; I need to be stronger,” or “I am embarrassed to seek help from a doctor; I fear what rumors might be made if someone sees me.”

As a result, they delay coping with their symptoms, which can worsen the condition, or they may avoid interaction with others, which can lead to isolation.

Thus, “stigma” is a hindrance to solving mental health difficulties.

So why does stigma occur?

It is due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of mental health issues and an unwillingness to learn about them, which leads to misconceptions.

As I mentioned earlier, some people think that people with a mental health issue are “dangerous,” “crazy,” “weak-minded,” or ” not patient enough.”

There are also some traditional lore and cultures that give reasons for supernatural existence, such as “possession by the devil” or ” being cursed.”

But they have no scientific evidence, and it is not that people with emotional issues are in danger or crazy.

Everyone feels stress, doesn’t it?

If that stress is strong or lasts for a long time, it becomes emotionally difficult, in other words, it develops into a mental health issue.

So, it is not something unusual.

But because it is so painful and interferes with one’s normal life, even the person feels that he or she is specially “weird” compared to those around him or her who are not.

What can we do in order to fight against stigma?

We can do this by gaining a better knowledge and understanding of mental health issues.

Don’t make judgments based solely on what someone says or what you see on SNS.

There is no sound rationale for it.

Get knowledge from expert opinions and proper sources.

If someone close to you is experiencing emotional difficulties, listen to them.

Knowing someone who is actually going through it will give you a deeper understanding of the situation and how they are feeling.

By being listened to, the other person can also feel a little better about the situation.

If you yourself are feeling overwhelmed, explore what the problem is, where it is coming from, and such.

Then, do what you need to do, depending on the symptoms: take a break from work, distance yourself from people you don’t like, do something you like, exercise, etc.

If you can’t help yourself, seek help from a professional.

You may want to avoid it because you don’t want to be embarrassed if someone finds out or think you are weird, but the people who say you are weird and make you feel uncomfortable are ignorant people who don’t consider people’s feelings and are swayed by superficial information.

And in the end, these people will not do anything for you, but will only cause you more stress and make you feel worse.

Wouldn’t you rather take action for your own benefit?

First, understand what you are suffering from and stop looking at yourself negatively.

If it is someone around you, try to understand the situation and his/her feelings with the accurate information.

But that doesn’t mean you have to accept it.

You don’t have to agree with them.

Because it is natural for every person to have different opinions, and it is not possible to agree with all of them.

However, by trying to understand, we can realize that there is another way of thinking, and we can restrain ourselves from assuming that the other person is crazy or having a negative attitude toward him or her.

We all have emotionally difficult times.

Instead of making the situation worse by looking at it the specific way or taking an aggressive attitude, take care of someone else’s or your own feelings by understanding and behaving according to proper knowledge.