Stigma & Mental Illness: Impacts & Discrimination - Essay Sample

Introduction

Stigma refers to a situation where someone negatively sees another person as a result of possessing particular characteristics. Such characteristics can include mental illness, cultural background, and disability among others. Treating people in such a manner is also discrimination. The stigma of mental illness occurs when someone is defined based on their illness as opposed to other individual characteristics. The stigma of mental illness can have detrimental impacts on the victims. For example, it may prevent them from getting the medical care that they need. As a result of the negative consequences of the stigma of mental illness, marketing has been used as an avenue for reducing its impacts. The forms of marketing that have been applied to reducing the mental health problems that result from stigma and discrimination includes social marketing campaigns, social contact, education, and protest and advocacy.

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The stigma of mental illness is a major social problem and a burden for the victims. One of the main reasons that have increased the problem is the disregard for the challenges that are faced by the victims of the stigma of mental illness (Mannarini & Rosi, 2018). Lack of awareness and information has prevented the public from supporting individuals with mental illness. For example, they become afraid of seeking therapeutic support from community members. Evidence has shown that a large number of people with mental illness do not seek help due to the fear of being stigmatized (Mannarini & Rosi, 2018). Such people are afraid of disclosing their health conditions to the physicians who they do not trust or have confidence in. Lack of awareness has also led to people with mental illness being seen as dangerous (Rasmussen, Kakuhikire, Baguma, Ashaba, Cooper-Vince, Perkins, Bangsberg, & Tsai, 2019). The public sees such individuals as lacking control of their lives. It has led to negative relationships between the ill and the public.

The stigma of mental illness is perceived differently by the public. The level of stigma that individuals with mental health problems experience depends on the characteristics that they possess. Evidence shows that people with schizophrenia face a high level of stigma (Parle, 2012). They are seen as unpredictable and dangerous. Individuals that have mental problems that result from addiction to alcohol and drugs also experience a high level of stigma (Parle, 2012). Apart from being seen as dangerous, addicts are also seen to be a nuisance to the public. The public assumes that they brought the addiction to themselves. Other studies have shown that individuals with mental illness are seen to be less intelligent and unable to make decisions (Parle, 2012). As a result of this, they are not fit to engage in activities such as cooking or taking care of children.

Different types of social stigma can be experienced by individuals with mental health problems. Social stigma refers to a type of stigma in which society creates barriers for individuals with mental health problems (Ahmedani, 2011). The barriers result from the beliefs of the community about such people. For example, they may be seen as inferior. In self-stigma, the negative perception by the public is also internalized by the victim (Ahmedani, 2011). The victim is influenced by the negative perception of the rest of the public. Health professional stigma refers to the social beliefs about mental health that are possessed by practitioners (Ahmedani, 2011). It prevents health practitioners from delivering services to the victims.

Different forms of marketing have been used in reducing the stigma of mental illness. A social marketing campaign is one of the common ways of reducing the stigma of mental illness. Such campaigns are aimed at changing the attitude and beliefs of individuals about mental health challenges (Meyer, De Ruyter, Grewal, Cleeren, Keeling, & Motyka, 2020). Social marketing campaigns are focused on mental health issues that result from alcohol, smoking, and schizophrenia. It also targets victims of stigma to prevent them from committing suicide or going to depression. For the victims, the social marketing campaign aims at changing their behaviors (Meyer et al., 2020). For example, individuals who have excess weight are encouraged to adopt healthy eating habits. The social marketing campaigns also encourage individuals to adopt preventive behaviors (Meyer et al., 2020). For example, they are encouraged to visit medical centers and get proper care for their conditions. The same campaign targets other public members who may not be aware of the illness and the challenges that are associated with it.

A known program that has played an effective role in reducing the stigma of mental health is California's Mental Illness Stigma Reduction Campaign (Collins, Wong, Breslau, Burnam, Cefalu, & Roth, 2019). The campaign is one of the most comprehensive in the United States. Started in 2013, the campaign is funded by state voters (Collins et al., 2019). The main purpose of the campaign is to conduct prevention and intervention programs that improve the mental health of individuals. The campaign has reached the victims through contact and education. As a result of the campaign, more people suffering from mental illness have received care (Collins et al., 2019). It has changed the perceptions of people about mental illness. For example, it has made them believe that it is possible to treat mental health conditions. It has created a positive change among the members of the public in California.

Social contact has been used as an effective way of reducing the stigma of mental illness. The purpose of social contact is to provide opportunities for the public to talk about mental health problems and to act on the information that is provided to them through different avenues (Evans-Lacko, Malcolm, West, Rose, London, Rusch, Little, Henderson, & Thornicroft, 2013). To ensure that social contact campaigns are effective, local and international organizations are involved. Social contacts are also made effective by conducting them in public places and also during public events (Evans-Lock et al., 2013). The process of conducting this activity involves using volunteers that have experience in handling the different mental health problems faced by individuals. The volunteers encourage the public members to talk about any mental health issues that they may have.

Another marketing strategy that has been used in reducing the impact of stigma is conducting educational programs. The purpose of education is to provide information about stigma and the challenges that are faced by the victims (Sampogna, Bakolis, Evans-Lacko, Robinson, Thornicroft, & Henderson, 2017). Education does not only correct misinformation, but it also eliminates any negative perceptions and beliefs that individuals might have about mental illness. It is a strategy that was applied in England between 2009 and 2014 (Sampogna et al., 2017). Education was conducted through mass media, social media, and social contact. The education campaign that is utilized depends on the population that is targeted.

The use of protest and advocacy is another effective method that has been applied in reducing the impact of stigma on mental illness. Apart from the promotion of civil rights, protest and advocacy have been used to eliminate the negative representations that the public makes towards individuals with mental illness (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012). Protests are carried out by victims of stigma and their advocates. Some of the forms of protest and advocacy that are applied by individuals include demonstrations, product boycotts, and letter-writing among others. The advantage of protest and advocacy is that they engage stakeholders and make them aware of the negative impacts of the stigma associated with mental health (Stuart, 2016). The use of protest brings people together to work on a common course. Protests and advocacy also target journalists, opinion leaders, and officials. It encourages them to take part in the elimination of the negative biases that negatively impact victims.

The existence of stigma in society has led to negative perceptions of individuals based on particular characteristics. For individuals with mental health challenges, social stigma has led to detrimental impacts such as depression, suicide, and failure to seek medical care. Different types of stigma such as social stigma, self-stigma, and health professionals' stigma have been experienced by individuals with mental health problems. To curb the negative impacts of stigma on mental health, marketing has been used. Some of the common forms of marketing that have been used include social marketing campaigns, social contact, education, and protest and advocacy. The awareness campaign carried out in California is an example of an effective marketing strategy for reducing the negative impacts of stigma on mental health.

References

Ahmedani, B. K. (2011). Mental health stigma: Society, individuals, and the profession. The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics 8(2).

Arboleda-Florez, J. & Stuart, H. (2012). From sin to science: Fighting the Stigmatization of Mental Illnesses. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 57(8); 457-463.

Collins, R. L., Wong, E. C., Breslau, J., Burnam, M. A., Cefalu, M., & Roth, E. (2019). Social marketing of mental health treatment: California's mental illness stigma reduction campaign. American Journal of Public Health 109(3); 228-235.

Evans-Lacko, S., Malcolm, E., West, K., Rose, D., London, J., Rusch, N., Little, K., Henderson, C., Thornicroft, G. (2019). Influence of time to change social marketing interventions on stigma in England 2009-2011. The British Journal of Psychiatry 202; 77-88.

Mannarini, S. & Rossi, A. (2019). Assessing mental illness stigma: A complex issue. Frontiers in Psychology 9; 2722.

Meyer, J., De Ruyter, K., Grewal, D., Cleeren, K., Keeling, D. I., & Motyka, S. (2019). Categorical versus dimensional thinking: Improving anti-stigma campaigns by matching health message frames and implicit worldviews. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 48; 222-245.

Parle, S. (2012). How does stigma affect people with mental illness? Nursing Times 108(28); 12- 14.

Rasmussen, J. D., Kakuhikire, B., Baguma, C., Ashaba, S., Cooper-Vince, C. E., Perkins, J. M., Bangsberg, D. R., & Tsai, A. C. (2019). Portrayals of mental illness, treatment, and relapse and their effects on the stigma of mental illness: Population-based, randomized survey in rural Uganda. PLOS Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002908

Sampogna, G., Bakolis, I., Evans-Lacko, S., Robinson, E., Thornicroft, G., Henderson, C. (2017). The impact of social marketing campaigns on reducing mental health stigma: Results from the 2009-2014 time to change programme. European Psychiatry 40; 116-122.

Stuart, H. (2016). Reducing the stigma of mental illness. Global Mental Health 3(17).