Understanding stigma
From the book – Chapter 32: Rights, Stigma and Suicide Prevention
Stigma
Stigma is negative attitude and discrimination. It often stops people seeking help. Education, respectful language, and personal stories reduce it.
Figure 32.1 The stigma cycle, and where to break it.
People with severe illness are still called mad, dangerous, or hopeless. With diagnosis, treatment, and support, many recover substantial function. Labels should be used carefully. The work is understanding a pattern, not pinning a person to a word.
Adults delay care because of stigma, work, and family duty. Some communities hold stigma harder; care still has to respect faith while staying evidence-based.
Read the full chapter – Chapter 32: Rights, Stigma and Suicide Prevention
Stories from real life
- The Meeting He Did Not Join – Daniel, thirty-four, a logistics supervisor in Nairobi, had been treated for depression for four months and was doing better. He had not told anyone at work.…
- What Farah Said at the Bus Stop – Farah, twenty-two, a college friend of Imran in Karachi, had been quiet for weeks. At the bus stop one evening she said lightly, 'You all would…
- The Room With the Latch – Kofi, thirty, had lived with schizophrenia for ten years in a village outside Kumasi. After his last relapse, his family, frightened by neighbours' talk, kept him…
- Sam Told Nobody at Home – Sam, seventeen, a pupil in Sydney, had told two friends that he was a boy, though everyone at home still used a different name. When he…
More on this topic: Mental health crisis and suicide prevention – what to do
More questions
- Understanding rights – stigma and suicide prevention
- Who is pushed further out?
- Understanding suicide prevention – stigma and suicide prevention
- What a family can actually do?
- Understanding understanding stigma
- The harm stigma does – understanding stigma
- Where stigma comes from?
- How to challenge stigma?
- As an individual – how to challenge stigma
- As a parent or teacher – how to challenge stigma