Why is mental illness a stigmatizing experience Essay

Why is mental illness a stigmatizing experience - Essay Example It resulted in a fact that they started lacking in the different aspects of life i.e. in self esteem, confidence, attaining proper medical guidance etc. "The vast majority of Americans report receiving information about mental illness from the mass media (Wahl, 1992). In our society, these images are typically inaccurate and overwhelmingly negative, characterizing people with mental illnesses as violent, dangerous, unpredictable, incompetent, and unlikable" (Alexander and Link, 2003) Form the recent year's stigma have been associated with the metal-illness and more research should have to be done to clearly understand the situations and conditions that leads towards stigmatization behavior. The people experiencing stigma are in very worse condition they mostly face difficulty in surviving with the disease and as well with the labeling and stereotyping which other people use to mark them with. (Patrick et al, 2005) "As a result of both, people with mental illness are robbed of the opportunities that define a quality life: good jobs, safe housing, satisfactory health care, and affiliation with a diverse group of people." (Patrick and Watson, 2002) A narrow research took place to consider the conditions that contributes in the stigma of mental-illness. ... 1. Physical Appearance: Goffman uses the word of "abominations" of the body" that means that the person is loathing, disgust and can be a cause of nausea. The Appearance of the person is not normal and there is some kind of malformation in the body. 2. Racism: Stigma effects diversely on people of different sex, from different cultures, diverse religion and dissimilar traditions. 3. Flaw of Appearance: It includes that the person is mentally turmoil that makes him imperfect and defected. Goffman label them as "blemishes of individual character," Three-dimensional axis is portrayed to understand the stigma based on the study of interpersonal skills and relation within the surroundings. Perception, identity and reaction are included in three-dimensional axis. (Arboleda-Flrez, 2003) "A central aspect of stigma for people with mental illnesses is the perception that they are dangerous and unpredictable" (Alexander and Link, 2003) How Stigma Is Attested Stigma attested by the attitudes of the people in the surroundings. Some of the visible characteristics clearly states that those people are stigmatized like embarrassment, frightening, bias, angriness, and stereotyping. The people that experience stigmatization, their lives become so difficult to be survive. As well as their families faces difficulties and problems to cope with them. Scheffer quoted "Stigma leads others to avoid living, socializing or working with, renting to, or employing people with mental disorders, especially severe disorders such as schizophrenia" (Scheffer, 2003) Attesting Measures of Stigma The measure that takes to attest the stigma is: 1. People avoid seeking for the treatment when they are stigmatized. They find it shameful to