The Seven Types of Stigm
There are seven different types of stigma that people with mental illness may experience. These include self-stigma, perceived stigma, label avoidance, stigma by association, structural stigma, and health practitioner stigma. In this post, we will explore each type of stigma in detail.
According to Gretchen Grappone of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, there are seven different types of stigma that people with mental illness may experience. These include self-stigma, perceived stigma, label avoidance, stigma by association, structural stigma, and health practitioner stigma. In this post, we will explore each type of stigma in detail
Self-Stigma
People with mental illness often experience self-stigma, according to Grappone. Self-stigma “occurs when people apply negative labels to themselves” (Grappone). They begin to feel that their illness has taken over who they are completely. People may avoid getting the help that they need in order to prevent people from seeing them as someone with a mental illness.
Perceived Stigma
Then there is perceived stigma, which is the way that others treat people with mental health issues and can be seen in different ways. It can be seen through how family members, friends, coworkers, doctors and other professionals choose not to interact with people because of their mental health issue or talk down on them.
Label Avoidance
Next we have label avoidance where families and communities often shy away from identifying someone as having a mental illness because of the stigma attached to it. People often avoid the word “schizophrenia” or “autism”, for example, because they fear that people will treat them differently once they know about their diagnosis.
Stigma by Association
Then there is stigma by association which occurs when people are discriminated against because of being related to someone who has a mental illness. Grappone states, “parents of children with mental health challenges report feeling shame and guilt because others assume that they must have done something wrong to cause their child’s disorder” (Grappone). This is common if one family member experiences a mental illness, like schizophrenia, while another does not.
Structural Stigma
Next we have structural stigma where policies can work against people with mental illness. Structural stigma includes things such as having a lack of access to affordable treatment or not having any kind of insurance that covers mental health services.
Health Practitioner Stigma
Finally, Grappone discusses health practitioner stigma which is the way that many professionals view people who have mental illness. They may feel like these individuals are “undeserving of help” or “difficult to work with” (Grappone). This often leads to a lack of treatment for people who need it.
Conclusion: In conclusion, there are seven different types of stigma that people with mental illness can experience. These include self-stigma, perceived stigma, label avoidance, stigma by association, structural stigma,and health practitioner stigma
