Stigma is quite a loaded term but I can't think of a better one tbh. In this country, there is an expectation from people that one doesn't speak of having mental illness. Mentioning it in a job can get you fired (not always but sometimes). Socially it's something you have to hide.

Why do people think such exists? Is there something unsettling about the idea of a person with mental illness? I came across an interesting idea today, the idea of us, as people, being conditioned to believe that we have complete freewill. That everything we do is a choice on our parts. Mental illness is a contradiction of this. People with OCD for instance might not be able to choose not to lock a door 7 times. A person with depression might be trapped within a mood without any way out of it by just thinking.

This makes a lot of sense to me. I have heard people describe a depressed person as someone who refuses to snap out of it.

Is there something deeply unsettling about a person whose mental free will is restricted so? Is something that people simply do not want to contemplate? Does it have implications of free will not being the unshakable truth that they wish it to be? Is the idea of freedom of thought something that people take for granted?


From the patient's side. Does this stigma, or need to hide an illness, effect the person negatively? What does this do to a person's acceptance of said illness? Can it lead to denial from the person? If "society" does not wish to acknowledge this illness, what does this do the person?


Are there psychological theories or investigations into this? Has there been any study of why mental illness can provoke such a reaction when other physical illnesses are accepted as a fact of life?

Im going to stop making threads.

Haha, Naomi you should know that the average poster on TT has only 1 braincell, and thus doesn't even know what stigma is let alone, make a decent reply to this thread.

I like you're idea tis interesting, however I don't know if it can be that, cos if it is, then it would be mmore obvious to us?

Its more just a case of someone being different I think. The human race can't deal with different people. Thats where racism etc all stems from.

Also I wouldn't really say this is a problem of today's society in this country, its far more general than that. Its something thats always been there, long before Hitler sent them all to concentration camps.

The problem is that people are afraid of things that they don't understand and I've found there is generally alot of misunderstanding out there around the whole subject.

Mental illness has only very recently been seen as an actual illness as opposed to someone being a threat to society. That being said most people don't encounter people with an obvious mental illness in day to day life. Most people's first reaction to someone with Tourette's walking down the street is probably to cross the road in case this "crazy" person is violent. Bizarre behaviour can be threatening for someone not used to it.

Also it's my view that the society has always subscribed to the idea that you should bottle things up and not talk about it. If you're depressed you just stay depressed and go back to doing what you're doing. Plus the strong religious element to Irish society up until recently would have not seen mental illness as an illness but as something different. Phrases like "he's a bit touched" imply that it's something supernatural. And let's not think about how many people have been hurt or killed throughout the ages for talking in tongues or being possessed.

*tries to veer back on topic*
Basically I think ignorance is the biggest obstacle in removing the stigma from mental illness. Overcoming this would be a big step in helping people with mental illness in overcoming their problems whether it is OCD or depression or schizophrenia, once the people around you understand they'll know what to do and what not to do.

And you are so right Clare. People on here DO only have 1 brain cell. William is a perfect example.

HA!

You're well on the way to a trip to hatred town.

Result!

Oh no it's not. I am a very nasty nasty person. You just ask Clarice or Berni. They will tell you how bad I am.

Clare and Berni love you William!