Increasing knowledge and awareness of the stigma surrounding mental health involves understanding the types of stigmas that are out there. We think of stigma as a judgment from other people, and sometimes we can internalize the feelings of others or society at large. Experiencing stigma over time might cause someone to believe that the beliefs surrounding stigmas are true. This is when it becomes self-stigma.
Just like stigma, self-stigma can have a real impact on the quality of life and a variety of areas of functioning in people with mental illness. Self-stigma makes you feel like you’re not worthy of or entitled to the same things that other people are, like a rewarding career and loving relationships. It can take away your empowerment and make you feel that you are less valuable or have less to offer to the world and to others than you do.
Self-stigma can make you feel ashamed or embarrassed, and it can lead to low self-worth, and poor self-esteem, and detract from self-efficacy (the belief that you can accomplish things). It can also interfere with your ability to seek treatment for your condition or to take good care of yourself. There are four main effects that self-stigma has on people:
Alienation is an effect self-stigma can have, making it difficult to reach out for help or accept support because of your mental illness and health. Examples of this include feeling inferior, feelings of shame, disappointment, or embarrassment, blaming yourself, and feeling that no one else can understand you.
Stereotype endorsement is another type of self-stigma that manifests when someone comes to believe the stereotypes surrounding mental illness. This can cause you to have a “why bother” attitude toward goals like employment and dating because you already feel they are unobtainable. For example, believing that you can’t get married or have kids, have a fulfilling life, or be worried that you’ll be prevented from having a career.
Presumption of discrimination is a belief that manifests due to all of the discrimination someone may experience from their mental illness. This type of self-stigma may cause you to feel that people are always discriminating against you (even when they’re not), not taking you seriously, or that others perceive you as unlovable or undesirable.
Social withdrawal is the fourth manifestation of self-stigma which causes people to distance themselves from others. This is disruptive to relationships because it causes a fear of getting close to people, a propensity to minimize relationships because you see yourself as a burden or inconvenience, and can cause you to feel like a potential embarrassment to the people around you.
The emotional impact of self-stigma can often be greater than the symptoms of the mental illness itself. It shatters your self-esteem, self-efficacy, and outlook on life. The shame and embarrassment self-stigma engenders in us can make us reluctant to talk about our mental illness or mental health needs which can limit understanding and awareness, allowing our self-stigma to grow even more powerful.
Social stigma, sometimes referred to as public stigma, is another stigma surrounding mental health which refers to negative stereotypes of those with mental health issues from a societal perspective. These stereotypes come to define an individual with mental illness and cause the public to label them as ‘different’, ‘dangerous’, or ‘bizarre’ instead of being seen as an individual. This labeling can cause others to discriminate against those with mental health issues. For example, a person with a mental health problem may find that others, including friends and colleagues, avoid them. They may also find it harder to gain housing, obtain employment, and access healthcare or they may find that people don’t believe them or find them credible when they’re reporting a crime. A 2011 study from England concluded that approximately 90% of those who identify as having a mental illness have been discriminated against.
Without more social awareness, support, and advocacy, social stigma, which leads to self-stigma, can become a vicious cycle that can lead to worse outcomes and conditions for people who are already mentally struggling. Therefore, understanding and addressing these types of stigmas is an essential part of healing and recovering from mental illness. We can all do our part by being open, honest, and accepting of not only others’ mental health needs but also our own. It’s time to start normalizing mental health issues just as we have physical health issues like cancer, auto-immune diseases, or the common cold. There shouldn’t be shame surrounding any part of us that makes us vulnerable and human. One way to remind ourselves of this is to memorize the phrase “I am the same person I was before you found out I have a mental health disorder”. Our mental health doesn’t define us; it is a portion of the whole person that we are and what we have to offer the world and the people in our lives.