depression

 

Depression

Depression: stigma and mental health

Stigma happens when someone is labelled in a way that hurts their standing in the community and encourages people to consider them as less than a whole person. Stigma is a result of ignorance: people tend to fear what they do not understand. Stigma can lead to hurt, rejection and prejudice against people who are labelled. People with mental health problems are labelled with a variety of names (e.g. as lunatics, nutters, bonkers, weak, violent, mad, failures). Many people we talked to felt shame about their mental health problems, which some of their families also felt. Some tried to overcome this shame.

People showed enormous courage in coping with depression and overcoming stigma and talked about how they “walked through the minefield of stigma”, while trying to feel OK about themselves. For instance, many tried to pass as 'normal' and as if they were coping. Some avoided getting a diagnosis, or wondered if they should declare their depression to potential employers, aware that a history of mental illness would make it harder to get a job. Some people argued that the effectiveness of their medication proved that the problem was with brain chemistry, was no-one's 'fault' and therefore should not be stigmatised.

As people came to better accept themselves, they sometimes took a more active approach to tackling stigma. Telling a few trusted individuals is often a first step. Prejudice could not always be avoided and people sometimes ended up feeling hurt and angry at assumptions that people with mental health problems are violent, dangerous or drug addicts. Some people challenge other people's views on mental health very directly or even make personal complaints to the media about stereotyped portrayals of mental illness. And things are slowly changing. One man noted with relief the community outrage that occurred when a tabloid newspaper depicted Frank Bruno (the celebrity boxer) as “bonkers”. However, for another man, the Bruno episode exposed racial stereotypes on top of stigma. Others were encouraged by the way celebrities were more and more open about their depression. One man spoke positively about an anti-discrimination campaign that was run in his community, and another woman encouraged fellow users to tackle stigma directly in the media.

It is a frustrating thing to live in a world that encourages us to mask struggle and pain, and where flaws, failures, and tragedies are spoken about in hushed tones. Our painful secrets hide the feelings we all experience but try to ignore -- grief, shame, guilt.

We grow up being told not to cry, to always look on the bright side, and to endure with a smile on our faces. We are fed phrases like:

“Just be happy.”

“Stay positive.”

"It could be worse.”

“You’ll get over it.”

We are encouraged to only share our wins, to compare ourselves to others, to define what “being normal” means, and then we associate it with success and happiness. We begin to turn away from others when faced with discomfort and pain, believing it means failure, believing it means you’re not worthy or good. 

And so these wounds, still with us but left unattended to, convince us that maybe it’s better to pretend they’re not there.

It’s no surprise, then, that mental health stigma exists in a world that discourages the recognition and acceptance of pain and treats people differently because of it.

Stigma is a harmful weapon. Stereotypes and judgments of those with mental illness perpetuate stigma and shame people into silence. It causes people to suffer in fear and solitude because they learn that it’s not “acceptable,” “normal,” or “natural” to express their feelings to others.

Stigma was identified as a  public health concern15 years ago, and people with mental illness are still being perceived as dangerous, irresponsible, and incapable because this stigma is cemented throughout our lives. Whether it’s the comments from your classmates like “she’s crazy” and “he’s off his rocker” to describe others, a cultural belief that mental illness doesn’t exist at all, the whispers from your neighbors that someone is “just being dramatic” and “attention-seeking.” 

The movies depict villains with mental illness or an implication that mental illness is somehow your fault. Stigma is continuing to be weaved into our communities -- and it’s killing us.

       By Anurag Agarwal