Stigma - Discrimination and Social Exculsion

The World Health Organisation states that Stigma is one of the biggest problems faced by those dealing with severe psychiatric disorders.

Stigma can result in people being discriminated against, leading to social exclusion.  A vision for change, Report of the expert group on mental health policy states that social exclusion happens when people cannot access education or employment, and become dependent on state benefits as a result.  The issue of discrimination was highlighted in a recent research study commissioned by Amnesty International Ireland, and undertaken by the School of Nursing DCU.  This report titled Hear my voice: the experience of discrimination of people with mental health problems in Ireland highlighted how widespread the problem is.  The main findings of the report were:

• When asked about discrimination, participants most commonly provided examples pertaining to the workplace.  Issues mentioned included being bullied, having to explain gaps in their employment history, inflexible working arrangements and disregard for their qualifications and work experience.  36% felt they had been treated unfairly when looking for work, and 42% felt they had been been treated unfairly when it came to keeping their jobs.
• A little over a third of all respondents felt they had not been treated equally in their education. 
• Socially, many of the respondents found they encountered discrimination especially when it came to making and keeping friends (62%), by people in their neighbourhood (40%) and in their overall social lives (37%).
• Perhaps most surprising was the level of unfairness participants felt about how they were treated by those closest to them.  Amazingly 60% felt the received unfair treatment by their families, 46% in their role as a parent, and 42% in their marriage/divorce.

In this report the participants spoke about the difficulties in interacting with friends, colleagues and family members.  Many felt they were misunderstood and their illness made it difficult to maintain intimate relationships. 

This report highlights that those living with a mental health disorder face prejudice on a daily basis.  This can cause feelings of shame, hurt and isolation.  The following video was published on YouTube.  The person being interviewed (Phil) is one of the people appearing on a large advertising campaign run by Amnesty International in 2010.  Here he talks about the attitudes towards those who suffer from depression: