As mentioned in past blog posts, mental health is a growing problem across all demographics. More people need services for treating their conditions.
Yet many of them don’t seek out this care. While there are many reasons people may choose not to get help, stigma is one of the biggest.
This stigma is the negative opinion toward someone because of their mental illness. It can lead to discrimination, or when someone treats a person negatively because of their condition.
Types of stigma include self, public, and institutional. Contributing factors to this problem can include:
Personal knowledge about mental illness
Knowing or interacting with someone who has a condition
Cultural stereotypes
Media stories
Knowledge of institutional practices and past restrictions
No matter the reason, stigma continues to be problematic for many who suffer from mental health conditions. Even though society recognizes this as an issue, people still hold negative beliefs which cause those who need help to avoid care.
This infographic displays this problem with 30 statistics on mental health stigma.
Conclusion
Because of mental health stigma, people with conditions experience more negative social consequences. Of all groups with long-term health conditions or disabilities, they’re one of the least likely to:
Find a job
Be in a steady, long-term relationship
Have decent housing
Experience social inclusion
They also tend to experience social isolation, low self-esteem and internalized negative beliefs.
Social campaigns have started to help ease these issues and many people recognize stigma as an issue. But negative opinions still occur. This causes people to avoid care, making their conditions worse.
Statistics on Mental Health Stigma
Around 60% of adults with a mental health illness don’t receive care - NAMI
A study of over 90,000 people worldwide found that stigma of mental illness is one of the top reasons that they don’t receive care - Healthline
12.6% said that they didn’t receive care because their neighbors or community might have a negative opinion - Advocating for Better Mental Health
Almost 12% said it was because receiving help might have a negative impact on their job - Advocating for Better Mental Health
Another 9% said they didn’t want others to find out - Advocating for Better Mental Health
Out of 222 individuals with mental illness over a two-year period, self-stigma correlates to a decrease in recovery - PubMed
Only 7% of people in developed countries think that it’s possible to overcome mental illness - PubMed
53% disagree that people are caring and sympathetic to people with mental illness - MentalHelp.net
15% believe that those with mental illness are a burden to society - MentalHelp.net
7% to 8% of people in developed countries think that people with a mental illness are more violent. 15% to 16% of people in developing countries believe the same - PubMed
Another survey found that 18% disagreed with the statement that those with mental health problems are far less dangerous than most people assume - MentalHelp.net
98% of people agree that mentally ill people experience stigma and discrimination - MentalHelp.net
16% think that this stigma has increased in the last year - MentalHelp.net
9 out of 10 of those with a mental health problem say that stigma or discrimination negatively impacts them - Mental Health Foundation
51% of Americans believe that people with mental health conditions experience “a lot” of stigma and discrimination. 35% believe they experience “some,” and 13% believe they experience “little to none” - Addiction Center
Those most impacted by stigma include young people, men, minorities, people in the military, and health workers - Healthline
Around half of American workers are uncomfortable talking about their mental health in the workplace. Over one-third worry about job consequences if they seek care - American Psychiatric Association
Only 20% of workers felt completely comfortable talking about their mental health issues - American Psychiatric Association
Age contributes to these comfort levels. 62% of Millennials are comfortable, compared to only 32% of Baby Boomers - American Psychiatric Association
Anti-stigma marketing campaigns are effective in persuading people to get help. If all adults were subject to a California mental health campaign, 47% would receive treatment. But if they weren’t exposed to the campaign, only 36% would get treatment - NCBI
Communities that used the “Make It OK” campaigns saw decreases in stigma between 2017 and 2019. There was a 5% increase in people who felt comfortable talking to someone about their mental illness. There was a 7% increase in people who would tell their friends if they had a mental illness. There was a 4% decrease in the number of people who were reluctant to receive help - Health Partners
