Substantial stigma over minority groups in our civilization has occurred for hundreds of years, and, while much of the stigma has been diminished, the stigma surrounding mentally ill and neurodivergent or neurodivergent individuals is still happening. However, it can be easy to overlook, as it is so deep-rooted in our society.
Many individuals don’t even know the meaning of the word stigma. Consequently, what precisely is stigma? It is the parallelism of components-labeling, typecasting, disconnection, status injury, and prejudice. It also shows that for stigmatization to occur, power must be exercised. What precisely is meant by this? By this definition, stigma is the mistreatment and misunderstanding of a minority group over which power is exercised. Stigma is encompassed by five factors: labeling, typecasting, separation, status loss, and discrimination.
Labeling is the generalization of a person or group with a word or short phrase. For example, anyone who has broken the law can be labeled as a criminal, even if they are not. Like labeling, stereotyping is the application of a widely adopted thought about specific types of individuals to the whole group, whether they reflect reality or not. For example, a stereotype of mentally ill people is that they are all violent. Very few mentally ill people fit this stereotype and are not at all violent. Separation in the context of stigma is best explained as it occurs when the reactions of others produce a pronounced sense of being devalued, disrespected, or viewed as less than fully human.
This goes beyond general social awkwardness and sadness; mentally ill and neurodivergent individuals are mistreated, singled out, and even shunned because of their neurodivergent. Status loss is any negative change in one's social standing, whether it be losing a job, becoming homeless, etc. The status loss of a mentally ill individual is often caused by the last component: discrimination. Discrimination refers to the unjust treatment of an individual or group, usually based on stereotypes. When combined all together, these components make up what is known as stigma.
Why exactly is the stigma around mental health so harmful? The detrimental effects of the stigma around mental health are as follows: it reduces access to resources and opportunities (i.e., housing, jobs) and leads to low self-esteem, isolation, and hopelessness. In its most overt form, stigma results in outright discrimination and abuse. One detrimental effect of the stigmatization of mentally ill individuals is that it can lead to discrimination in the workplace.
Moreover, it can prevent mentally ill people from even obtaining jobs in the first place, as potential employers tend to refuse to hire people with a history of mental health problems. While this type of discrimination is illegal, quite a few companies find a way around it. Another harmful effect that the stigma around mental illness has is that it can prevent mentally ill people from getting needed help.
Self-stigma can prevent mentally ill individuals from seeking mental health treatment, whether it be because of shame or just general misunderstandings about mental illness. In addition, outside stigma can prevent individuals from seeking treatment. Yet another consequence of the stigma is drug and alcohol addiction and abuse. Many people with mental illnesses turn to drugs or alcohol to cover up symptoms when their mental illness is stigmatized.
A final consequence of the stigmatization of mental illness is bullying. Children and teens latch onto these stigmas that adults enforce and bully anyone who is perceived as "different" or "other"—oftentimes, neurodivergent children.
Generally, most people don't realize how prevalent mental illness is. Nearly one in five adults in the United States has a mental illness. This is approximately 46.6 million people, representing 18.9% of all adults in the U.S. If a multitude of people struggle with mental illness, why is there still so much stigma surrounding it? Moreover, what can we do to abolish the stigma? Through the means of education, media, and real-life exposure, the societal stigma of mental illness can be reduced and eventually obliterated.
Education is always an important means of change. One way society can reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness is through education. Brief educational courses on mental illness have proved to reduce stigmatizing attitudes among a wide variety of participants (police officers; industrial workers and government employees; high school students. When people are educated about what they don’t know, it creates an understanding between neurodivergent and neurotypical people.
Courses such as Mental Health First Aid ™ and Rethink ™ teach mental health first aid and anti-stigma measures directly to students in the classroom. These classes are generally taught by prevention specialists from local mental health organizations. Courses such as TEI ™ mental health classes directly teach anti-stigma measures, in addition to pushing back against self-stigma and dealing with mental illness. These classes are taught both by musicians who have struggled with mental illnesses and experts on the topic of reducing mental illness stigma.
However, education is the least effective method of the three for reducing the stigma of mental illness, as education programs tend to be more effective when the student already has a background understanding of mental health. Despite the limited effectiveness, education can be a great way to open the doors to discussion about mental health, therefore helping reduce the stigma.
Another way society can aim to reduce the stigmatization of mental health is through different forms of media. The media people consume every day ultimately influences how they see the world, for better or for worse. This means it also affects what stereotypes are believed and what is stigmatized. The media are a useful location to begin the search for negative representations and adverse attitudes to mental illness, and ultimately the media will be the means of any campaign that aims to challenge and replace the stereotypes.
One type of media that can aid the reduction of the stigmatization of mental illness in film. Accurate representation of mental illnesses in popular films, portrayed without stereotypes, can reduce the stigma of mental illness. In addition, mentally ill actors in the film industry can have a platform to speak out about their experiences and raise awareness. Another type of media that would be greatly impactful on the reduction of mental illness stigma is social media. Social media is a great way to spread information and learn things about our world that you wouldn't have otherwise known.
While some people do still perpetuate horrible stereotypes online, social media has been one of the most important vessels in this millennium for the anti-stigmatization of mental illness. Music is yet another type of media that is key to the de-stigmatization of mental illness. The music industry tends perpetuating and setting the standard for the "norms" in our society. As an increasing number of songs by bands and musicians come out that normalize mental illness, people become more willing to publicly speak about mental illness, and the stigma begins to decrease. In addition, some musicians even create programs to aid the de-stigmatization of mental illness. All these and other types of media are useful in the de-stigmatization of mental illness.
A final way society can aim to reduce the stigmatization of mental illness is through contact, particularly in-person exposure. With the discrimination and stigmatization of other prominent minorities, it has been proven time and time again that, when the majority has more exposure to minority groups and builds relationships with them, the discrimination and stigmatization decreases.
Contact seems to be effective by changing stigmatizing knowledge structures. After contact, a person's natural stereotype of a minority group may be replaced by another, more positive image of that group. An example of contact could be community-based programs in which both neurodivergent and neurotypical people are put together to reach a common goal/share a common passion (i.e. art, music, planting trees, raising money for a local charity, etc.)
Contact can also take form in a non-formal setting, if neurotypical people and mentally ill people can forge relationships with each other based on understanding and compassion rather than stereotypes, it will greatly loosen the hold stigma has on society.
Through education, media, and in-person contact, society can greatly reduce the stigmatization of mentally ill individuals. However, there is one more thing that must be present to diminish the stigma. Above all, the de-stigmatization of mental illness must put one thing above all: understanding. If neurotypical people do not try to understand the hardships that mentally ill people go through and choose to treat them with indifference or hostility, society will never get anywhere. It is only with compassion and the understanding of others that these barriers can be broken down.