MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA4
1
Do Mental Health Illness Face Societal Stigma?
To be completed by student
As mental health has become much more prominent to society, a major concern for individuals suffering from mental health illness is whether they are facing significant societal stigma and the negative impact it has on treatment and overall health. The existing stigma of mental health continues to affect many lives. The purpose of this paper is to accumulate and evaluate reasoning from credible research and study on both sides of the argument concerning mental health-associated stigma and discrimination. Applying the scholarly articles and credible sources I chose, I will accomplish my discussion with considerable data supporting the premises towards my general conclusion.
Presentation of an Argument that Mental Health Illness Face Societal Stigma
Mental health is essential through every phase of life. It makes up our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Mental health should come priority as physical health as it affects how we function, make decisions, and cope with stress. Unfortunately, the stigma associated with mental health is still an ongoing concern. Individuals with mental illness are facing challenges that pose barriers to create a better lifestyle. The supporting reasons from the scholarly articles and credible sources are presented in standard form as follows.
Premise 1: Scientific studies revealed the stigma around mental health is multifaceted and framed through sociocultural beliefs, biased attitudes, and negative stereotypes (Mannarini, S., Boffo M., Rossi, A., Balottin, L., 2018. para. 2).
Premise 2: Society classifies individuals with mental illness as unsafe and impulsive, making it challenging to access jobs, homes, and appropriate treatment.
Premise 3: Bullying, violence, harassment, and the lack of understanding by family and peers are consequences of mental health stigma.
Premise 4: Inadequate funding for mental illness research and limited mental healthcare services are additional institutional stigma.
Conclusion: The effects of mental health stigma have become an overall predicament, leading to reluctance to treatment, higher treatment discontinuity rates, worsening of symptoms, and poor life quality.
Evaluation of the Argument that Mental Health Illness Face Societal Stigma
The reasoning presented appears to be strong because the premises support the focus that the stigma around mental health is causing more harmful effects to individuals suffering from the challenges linked with mental illness. The scholarly article, Assessing Mental Illness Stigma: A Complex Issue, explains many individuals with mental illness are not receiving appropriate treatment or are hesitant to therapy due to the prevailing stigma present in our society today (Mannarini, S. and Rossi, A., 2019. para. 1).
The supporting article, Stigma, Prejudice, and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness, explains how these individuals with mental illness fear they would lose their jobs or are less likely to be hired by employers if they were found incompetent, with the addition of having less access to rent homes. Furthermore, these individuals primarily experience shame and bullying, making it harder to cope with the stigma, resulting in minimal recovery. (Borenstein, J., M.D., 2020. para. 7). The valid reasons make it true that mental health stigma is indeed an actual social problem.
Presentation of an Argument that Mental Health Illness No Longer Face Societal Stigma
The opposing side of the argument, however, presents reassuring data. According to the scholarly article, Approaches to Reducing Stigma, there are significant measures taken today to reduce and assist with society’s negative viewpoints towards mental health stigma. The article explains the practical approaches of advocating programs and legislative changes that have impacted society’s awareness of mental health and its stigma today. The supporting reasons are presented in standard form as follows.
Premise 1: Educational campaigns, such as Scotland’s See Me campaign, surveyed a two-year post-observation that resulted in a 17% drop in mental health stigma (National Academy of Sciences. 2016. para. 4).
Premise 2: Anti-stigma programs influence changes in stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness.
Premise 3: Mental health literacy programs promote knowledge and educational strategies to better respond to mental health situations.
Premise 4: Peer support services in healthcare settings provide measures to promote the quality of mental health treatment.
Premise 5: Congress amended the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 2008, permitting individuals suffering from disabilities, including mental illness, protection against discrimination. (National Academy of Sciences. 2016. para. 27).
Conclusion: The outcomes of the anti-stigma advocacy programs and the improvement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) have positively impacted individuals with mental health illness, permitting more access to treatments and reducing stigma and discrimination.
Evaluation of the Argument that Mental Health Illness No Longer Face Societal Stigma
The reasoning presented in the article appears to be strong because the premises are well-supported by observational findings in mental health based on social effects, which strongly support its conclusion that the impacts of mental health awareness have set a positive approach towards reducing mental health stigma and increasing quality in mental healthcare treatments. Plausible reasonings such as having more mental healthcare programs and legislative alterations make the argument strong and compelling.
However, there are limitations I noticed in the strength of the reasoning. Although the article presented a vast amount of mental health support improved today, it also presented views on the challenges of evaluating baseline data based on the result assessment that fluctuate over time. An example would be regardless of the amount of mental health support provided, big media campaigns resulted no effect to biased attitudes and not much reduction in stigma with educational campaigns. (National Academy of Sciences. 2016. para. 67).
References
Mannarini, S. and Rossi, A. (2019). Assessing Mental Illness Stigma: A Complex Issue
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6336735/#B48
Borenstein, J., M.D. (2020). Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness. American Psychiatric Association.
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination
The National Academy of Sciences. (2016). Approaches to Reducing Stigma.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK384914/
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