Mental Health Stigma: Collective Culpability and Participation?

By: Abisola Amina

11/06/2020

*Precaution: This article contains sensitive topics that can be a trigger to some.*

With the rise of mental health issues and talks of catch words like “self-care” and “mindfulness” being thrown around as coping mechanisms to employ during these very difficult and uncertain times, it is imperative that we examine our collective selves and the role we have played in the perpetuation of mental health stigmas. Are we collectively to be blamed because of our silent participation?

How can we really shake off an image of “a mad man”, “a crazy person”, ‘a psycho”, “a loony” once we have seen the ways in which it has been romanticized in the violent scenes of our favorite movies; in the funniest punchlines of our most watched comedies; or being used as scapegoats in every criminal, ungodly, dangerous or unsafe experience that occur in our lives?

The repercussions of a history of mental health stigma are heavily and still overtly entrenched in our culture; deeply conditioned into our subconscious latent minds; and unfortunately pervasive in our everyday human support systems such as health care, religion, education, mass media, social media, government, etc.

The generational negative conditioning of the public towards the mentally ill has given rise to tremendous adverse impacts on the lives of the already broken, traumatized and often scared individuals. People who suffer mental illness are already in a lot of pain, usually very lonely and even uncertain of what is really going on inside them. It is a very dark, cold, place to be in your mind where you feel like your own brain is your enemy and refuses to cooperate even if you are a willing participant in wanting to feel good and be better.

Imagine atop all this difficulty, you have to contend and battle everyday with constant negative treatment such as bullying, humiliation; human rights violations and discrimination e.g. losing your job because of your mental illness, not receiving quality medical attention from health care professionals; and can also often resort to physical violence against some.

There is a general collective nonchalance towards mental health matters because of these pervasive stigmas that lay deep inside the unconscious recesses of our minds. Seeped and entrenched are generations of absurd behavior and thinking toward persons who are mentally ill. Even with ubiquitous information, the public seem to still choose and continuously cast a purposeful blind-side-eye on mental health issues which somehow appeal to the gossiping, back-biting, ridiculing and other “dark” natures in all of us even most tragically inside the very persons suffering with these mental illnesses.

Self-stigmatization is a huge hurdle the mental suffering has to overcome and it is somewhat sinister because you are raised in a culture rooted in these very negative social stigmas. The same environment that taught you to ill treat the mentally ill is the same environment in which you are suffering with your own mental illness silently and stigmatizing your own self because of the deep shame you feel inside, the fear of abandonment and ostracization, and most scary for many, is the feeling of no longer being included or seen as “normal” or “socially acceptable” – that guttural fear you sense of not belonging and being “voted off the proverbial island”.

Why does the mentally ill evoke such visceral reactions and strong feelings in us such as disgust, anger or even physical violence? Historically, stigmas began when the early church started associating symptoms of mental illness with demon possession and evil spirits. This is by far the main culprit of the stigmatization of mental illness and the inhumane manner in which mentally ill persons were and are still being treated. The main, and most types of gruesome and inhumane treatment of people suffering with mental illness in the early days were imprisonment, burned at the stake because you were a witch or evil, lobotomies (evasive and often fatal brain surgery), electroshock therapy (direct current passed through the brain to induce brain seizures), lifetime institutionalization, issuance of dangerous and deadly poisons, publicly beaten and humiliated and/or even killed. Just imagine someone who was suffering from cancer or other debilitating physical illnesses was treated in such a manner just because he/she are experiencing physical symptoms of their illness. Can you imagine? Maybe not. Because it is inconceivable today to imagine treating someone who is already suffering and in pain to be publicly beaten and blamed for their own illness.

Maybe, you’re thinking things aren’t so bad after all, at least they are not being burned at the stake? They should be happy? That may be true, however, the subtle, unconscious reactions and beliefs that we have inside of us, are the real issue. Although the mentally ill may not be lobotomized or burned at the stake today, thankfully because of human rights laws enacted to protect the mentally ill in some countries, the general attitude towards mentally ill persons have shifted over time but it still does not address the established, conditioned, rooted beliefs and attitudes that often have tragic social, emotional, physical, and psychological implications for them.

Another prevailing reason why stigmas are still common in society is because of the early days’ association of the mentally ill with everything “sinful” or “immoral” such as substance and drug abuse, prostitution, and criminality. This has brought about feelings of apathy towards mental health matters and issues. The general attitudes toward issues of mental illness are to ignore, undermine, dehumanize and even blame the mentally sick for their own disorders. These general attitudes whether from the wider society or from the patient himself, have devastating consequences for those who are willing to get help but are afraid to.

Unfortunately the stigmas of the early days are still alive today and despite advancement in technology and the widespread availability of all types of scientific facts, empirical evidence, and statistics demonstrating tremendous discoveries in mental health, somehow, society has unfortunately either unwilling or too afraid to perhaps entertain new perspective shifts about mental health matters. Is it because, accepting for example, that mental illness can be a genetic factor, therefore absolving the mentally ill person of blame? Or is it more comfortable and less troublesome to ignore all the new breakthroughs e.g. in epigenetics research that connects mental illness and other diseases to the mother’s in utero environment and also passing her own trauma unto the unborn baby? Are we not prepared to watch the new facts because perhaps it will force us to change and probably show empathy instead of disgust, anger, hatred and impassivity? Or are we together going to remain culpable and collectively participate in the stigmatization of the mentally suffering?

Stigmatization has taken centuries to be perpetuated and the generational effects are real and still ever so pervasive. However, the amazing thing is that it really doesn’t have to take another generation to end mental health stigma. We no longer have an excuse. There is too much information widely available about the advancements in mental health matters for us to remain ignorant; and that in itself is an indication of the dispassionate collective participation and culpability of stigma in our society.

So, what will we choose together moving forward? Well, I hope with the current immense grievance, fear and panic coupled with the uncertainty of our collective future that we can all pause for a bit and try to at least see things from another perspective and my hope is that the mentally ill and mental health matters receive its long awaited and deserved care and attention. Meanwhile, The National Alliance on Mental Health provides these points to help us to change our perspective and together we can end the mental health stigma now… not generations from now.

9 Ways to End Mental Health Stigma Now!:

Talk Openly About Mental Health
Educate Yourself And Others
Be Conscious Of Language
Encourage Equality Between Physical And Mental Illness
Show Compassion For Those With Mental Illness
Choose Empowerment Over Shame
Be Honest About Treatment
Let The Media Know When They’re Being Stigmatized
Don’t Harbor Self-Stigma

So, Let’s End Mental Health Stigma Now!

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