Stigmatization of the mentally ill

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The word stigma originally comes from the Greek and literally means wound mark . Often the mentally ill person is noticed by behavior and experience that has changed due to illness and thus deviates from generally applicable societal social norms . These deviations from the norm can set in motion a process of stigmatization : Psychiatric patients are often stigmatized and are exposed to various forms of discrimination . The stigmatization can take different forms and consist of public stigmatization, self-stigmatization or structural discrimination.

Types of stigma

Public stigma

Public stigmatization can occur in the area of ​​interpersonal interaction in the workplace or when looking for accommodation. The individual stigmatization is expressed in such a way that in direct contact with other people a social distance is maintained from them. Bullying , marginalization, personal attacks and incapacitation are not uncommon in many countries due to the stigma. This is also confirmed by a large cohort study, according to which the mentally ill are more likely to be victims of acts of violence than the mentally healthy. In a Swedish study, for example, it was found that 22% of all homicide victims had previously received outpatient or inpatient treatment due to mental disorders. Discrimination through to complete exclusion from looking for a job and apartment can make things more difficult if they become known. Exclusion from social life does not have to be caused by one's own misconduct or fault, but can also occur solely on the basis of social prejudices and ideas about mentally ill people.

Self-stigmatization

Discrimination on the basis of self-stigmatization comes from the mentally ill themselves. They adopt stereotypes that prevail in society about the mentally ill. As a rule, this can be observed in those affected who are permanently dependent on psychiatric or psychotherapeutic help and who resort to this self-stigmatization out of resignation , existential fears or insecurity.

Structural Discrimination

Structural discrimination describes the practical handling of public and private institutions in connection with mentally ill people (e.g. inequality with the somatically ill, unequal distribution of health insurance resources).

The structural stigmatization in Germany is mainly expressed through special laws against mentally ill people, the so-called Mentally Ill Laws (PsychKGs), which have different versions depending on the federal state. The longer or permanent storage of psychiatric diagnoses on the part of the health insurance companies is also seen as stigmatization by those affected. Coercive measures (e.g. compulsory treatment in psychiatry), judicial incapacitation and sterilization of those affected are still in practice in many countries around the world.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ N. Rüsch, M. Berger, A. Finzen, Angermeyer: Mental Illnesses - Clinic and Therapy, additional electronic chapter Stigma. page 1
  2. ↑ Dissertation The stigmatization of people with mental illnesses through an inpatient stay from the point of view of those affected, University of Freiburg, 2011, Katarina Miller, page 49
  3. ↑ C. Crump, K. Sundquist, MA Winkleby, J. Sundquist: Mental disorders and vulnerability to homicidal death: Swedish nationwide cohort study. In: BMJ (Clinical research ed.). Volume 346, 2013, pp. 557 f., ISSN  1756-1833 . PMID 23462204 .
  4. ↑ a b N. Rüsch, M. Berger, A. Finzen, Angermeyer: Mental Illnesses - Clinic and Therapy, additional electronic chapter Stigma. Page 4–5