Stigma Research to Build Better Mental Health
Rebecca G. Palpant, MS
Today, we can map the course of a seizure as it travels across the brain or pinpoint where memories exist in the inner recesses of the mind. We have medicines that are so technically advanced they target specific types of neurons. The genetic and biological causes of some mental illnesses have been identified after decades of research. Despite all of this progress and the tremendous growth in availability of cost-effective treatments, we still know so very little about how to prevent or reduce the stigma against mental illnesses, which can be as damaging to a person’s health and well-being as the illness itself.
Stigma, a mark or label that leads to discrimination, remains one of the greatest barriers to people seeking treatment worldwide. Stigma against mental illnesses is linked with heinous forms of discrimination and human rights abuses, with some of the most disturbing violations taking place in psychiatric hospitals. In both developing and wealthy nations, mental health services and institutions are chronically underfunded and understaffed, functioning largely as crumbling warehouses for the suffering rather than providers of rehabilitative care.
Mental illnesses are some of the most expensive and disabling conditions – they represent five of the top 10 leading causes of disability worldwide for men and women in their prime. The disease burden, alone, is greater than that of all cancers combined. Stigma and discrimination often define the barriers that prevent so many from accessing less costly and effective early interventions critical to maintaining a productive and meaningful life. If millions of people in both developed and developing countries could access appropriate mental health treatment without fear of labeling or discrimination, and could remain as productive and contributing members of the community, the economic benefits to communities would be countless.
