Context: Recently, Lancet Commission released a Report on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health.

Key highlights

• 90% of people with mental health issues report feeling negatively impacted by stigma and discrimination.

• 80% of respondents stated that stigma and discrimination may be worse than the sickness itself.

• 90% of those polled thought media could significantly help reduce stigma.

• Stigma can cause social exclusion and disempowerment of people with mental health conditions leading to discrimination and human rights violations, including problems in accessing healthcare, challenges in securing employment etc.

What is Stigma and discrimination?

• Stigma is when someone sees you in a negative way because of a particular characteristic or attribute such as skin colour, cultural background, a disability or a mental illness.

• When someone treats you in a negative way because of your mental illness, this is discrimination.

• Stigma happens when a person defines someone by their illness rather than who they are as an individual.

• For example, they might be labelled ‘psychotic’ rather than ‘a person experiencing psychosis’.

• For people with mental health issues, the social stigma and discrimination they experience can make their problems worse, making it harder to recover.

• It may cause the person to avoid getting the help they need because of the fear of being stigmatised.

• The harmful effects of stigma

Some of the effects of stigma include:

• feelings of shame, hopelessness and isolation

• reluctance to ask for help or to get treatment

• lack of understanding by family, friends or others

• fewer opportunities for employment or social interaction

• bullying, physical violence or harassment

• self-doubt: the belief that you will never overcome your illness or be able to achieve what you want in life.

Recommendations for Stigma reduction

• The Commission's recommendations are intended for a broad cross section of different public and private sectors.

• Evidence-based strategies should be implemented to eliminate the stigma and discrimination around mental health conditions.

• Social contact between people with and without lived experience of mental illness is the most effective way to reduce stigma and discrimination.

• Issuing international guidance that states that all forms of stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health conditions are unacceptable.

• Implementing governmental policies to support the end of stigma and discrimination.

• Eliminating workplace stigma and discrimination against people with mental health conditions

• Implementing national curricula and vocational training for all healthcare and social-care professionals that should include mandatory components on the needs and rights of people.

• Removing stigmatizing content from the media.

• Supporting people with lived experience of mental health conditions.