What is Stigma? Why does it matter?

I’ve experienced discrimination because of mental illness. What do I do?

Stigma in other cultures

“Historically, most cultures (including those of the western world) have viewed mental illness in a religious or spiritual context – blaming possession by a devil, curses, spirits, witches, or an attack of sorcery. In Morocco, for instance, it is thought that mental illness is caught, like a cold. While out walking you could absent-mindedly step on a bit of sorcery or accidentally drink it down. Blaming evil, in one sense, is positive because it implies that the victim is blameless. On the other hand, blaming a spirit also breeds fear, both of the person who is ill and of the possibility that you, too, can be become similarly afflicted”…… .

To learn more about mental health stigma in other cultures and to read the rest of this article, click here.