1 Being aware of stigmatising language and behaviours
When reading about mental health outside of this course, you may have come across the idea of ‘stigma’. This relates to negative views and attitudes others may have around mental health and mental illness. In the UK, the Mental Health Foundation describe the potential impact of this:
Stigma and discrimination make many people’s problems worse. It can come from society, employers, the media, and even our own friends and family. You may even experience internalised stigma, where you come to believe the negative messages or stereotypes about yourself.
This description is helpful as it demonstrates the various sources of stigma and the impact that it can have on a person’s wellbeing. Stigma and discrimination differ from each other in that stigma relates to a person’s negative and stereotypical beliefs and attitudes whereas discrimination is the actual behaviour that results from this belief.
It is estimated that nearly nine out of ten people with mental health problems experience stigma in some shape or form in their lives (Change Your Mind, 2023). This can have further negative impacts on their lives and make it harder to find work, maintain relationships, feel included in their communities, and access education (Mental Health Foundation, 2021). Worryingly, we also know that where stigma is felt by individuals or groups of people experiencing poor mental health, they are also less likely to access specialist support services (Bracke et al., 2019; Gronholm et al., 2018). Therefore, it is important for you to understand what is meant by stigma, the impact it can have on learners, and how stigmatising views can be challenged within education.
Activity _unit6.2.1 Activity 1 Exploring types of stigma
Part 1 Stigma definitions
Match each type of stigma to its definition
Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.
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People’s beliefs about mental illness.
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Beliefs people with mental illness have about the beliefs that others have about them.
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When people with mental illness believe the negative beliefs that others have about them are true.
Match each of the previous list items with an item from the following list:
a.Internalised stigma
b.Perceived stigma
c.Personal stigma
- 1 = c,
- 2 = b,
- 3 = a
Discussion
These definitions (adapted from Steele, 2014) show us that people can experience stigma in a range of ways, and that this is a complex issue to overcome. Importantly though, we do know that, broadly speaking, anti-stigma campaigns can be quite successful.
Part 2 Stigma examples in your setting
Now take some time to consider how each type of stigma may be present in your own educational setting. Think about how learners may experience this, as well as your own experiences. How might stigma be consciously or unconsciously perpetuated? How can it be prevented?
Make a note of the examples, and your thoughts about them, or any questions that arise in your mind, so that you can refer back to these as you progress through this week.
Discussion
It can be helpful to periodically review and repeat this activity to increase awareness of the prevalence of different types of stigma in your educational setting, which may vary, and its potential impact on learners as well as yourself as an educator.
Throughout this week you will be asked to go back to your notes on this activity as different aspects of mental health stigma are considered. So keep it handy!