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Stigma

Let me start by saying: I really dislike the phrase ‘mental illness’. It automatically paints a negative image of the person diagnosed. It feeds a stigma that society desperately needs to put behind us.

Stigma is defined as “a mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as on one’s reputation.”

A stigma is a mark of disgrace or infamy, a stain or reproach.

Take a minute to let that sink in; a stigma is a mark of disgrace. Therefore, to stigmatize a group or a person is to disgrace them. In most cases the only ‘crime’ these people have committed is being ‘different.’

Why do stigmas exist now, especially, with all the knowledge at our fingertips? Unfortunately, how society treats those that are different has not changed much since the earliest days of humanity.

Despite all the intellectual advances, we have made as a group; we have not overcome the fear of things and people that are not like us. Currently we still seem to find it easier to see and hate what is different from to see and embrace what is the same in each other.

References:

“Stigma.” Random House Dictionary. 2011,. Dictionary.com. Web 25 July 2011. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stigma)

Posted: July 25th, 2011 under Mental Health Awareness, Stigma, Thoughts on Mental Health.

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