By Michelle Clark aka Bipolar Bandit: For Complete Post, Click Here…
When you think of the word stigma, it conjures up a negative thought. The stigma of mental illness has gotten better over the years, but it is still very prevalent in today’s society. I’m sure if you have a mental illness or know someone who does, you have experienced stigma and have felt it and/or noticed it. However, have you ever thought about how there are different kinds of stigma?
There are actually seven kinds of stigma.
First, there is self-stigma.
This is when the person with a mental illness has listened to others about their mental illness and internalized it. Prior to the diagnosis, they had already formed an opinion about the mental illness. The media, people they know or the way a television show or movie portrayed a character persuaded the person to believe a preconceived idea of what mental illness. The person themselves could have judged people already and formed an opinion. Because of this self-stigma, many people don’t get help or feel like they are somewhat a failure when they receive a diagnosis.
The second kind of stigma is public stigma.
ngd- and much more…
