What is Stigma?

No matter the magnitude, stigma, prejudice, and discrimination against people with mental illness leads to harm to stigmatised individuals and their loved ones.

The effect of stigma can be exacerbated by factors such as culture. People may also face more than one type of stigma at a time, such as for their race, gender, sexuality, or disability. 

Public stigma - is “prejudice and discrimination directed at a group by the larger population.”

Structural stigma - is the systemic limitation of opportunities for individuals with mental illness, such as through underfunded mental health services, to lower funding for mental illness research. 

Self-stigma - can result when stigmatized individuals internalize the public’s beliefs, be prejudiced against themselves, and then discriminate against themselves.

Stereotypes are generalised, oversimplified beliefs about a group of people, such as dangerousness, incompetence, or character weakness. They often stem from a lack of understanding or fear due to inaccurate or misleading media representation. 

People who endorse these negative stereotypes are prejudiced, and often have negative emotional reactions to stigmatised groups.

This may result in discrimination, whereby prejudiced individuals take action against stigmatised groups.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (n.d.). Stigma, prejudice and discrimination against people with mental illness. Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination

Corrigan, P. W., & Rao, D. (2012). On the self-stigma of mental illness: Stages, disclosure, and strategies for change. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 57(8), 464–469. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371205700804 

Corrigan, P. W., & Watson, A. C. (2002). Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 1(1), 16–20.

Mental Health Foundation. (2021, October 4). Stigma and discrimination. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/stigma-and-discrimination