The stigma of mental health is still very much alive, many people would say. Personally, I don’t think the situation is as bad as it used to be. I accept that the stigma of mental health exists. However, I think it is not as strong as when I was diagnosed with type 1 bipolar in 1982. Today I see my friends experiencing major depressive episodes and manic episodes without being stigmatized.
I accept that there is still a certain stigma attached to mental disorders. I think a lot of this is caused by the media. Often times, when a person with mental health problems commits a crime, the media tend to exaggerate it. This is especially true with regard to serious criminal acts. Sometimes the media give it great emphasis. At other times, the exaggeration is more subtle in nature. In my opinion, the actions of the media tend to suggest that the general public should fear people with mental disorders.
I think there are two main reasons why people with mental disorders do not face as much mental health stigma as was claimed forty years ago. Today, many celebrities talk about their mental disorders. They come from different walks of life. They are describing how their major manic or depressive episodes affect them. As celebrities comment, people take notice of their revelations. This gives the general public a much better idea of the suffering that a person with an episode of their particular mental disorder is going through.
The second reason is that ordinary people with mental disorders are talking too. Many affected people are now being open about their disorder. Now, when a manic episode or a major depressive episode is being experienced, friends and loved ones are aware of what the affected person is going through. They become much more understanding.
On many occasions, special efforts are made to educate the friends and family of an affected person about their disorder. This understanding on the part of friends and loved ones can, and does, lead them to be much more understanding about what the grieving person is going through. Sometimes, they even recognize the problems that lie ahead before the affected person.
The Internet contains many examples of celebrities and ordinary people who share their experience with mental disorder. Recent celebrities who have explained their problems with manic episodes and depressive episodes include Catherine Zeta-Jones, Demi Lovato, and Sinead O’Conner. An Internet search will reveal any number of “ordinary people” who have learned to manage their manic episodes or their depressive episodes. This publicity has been combined to educate the general public about what a mental disorder is all about. This better understanding has served to greatly reduce the mental health stigma associated with mental health disorders.