Empowering the Mentally Ill
For decades, stigma surrounding those with mental illness has plagued our society. It has caused those with problems to not seek treatment. Stereotypes, predjudice, and discrimination harm people with mental illness in many ways. They might be missing out on opportunities in life to achieve their goals. Many times people with mental illness will be unable to find good jobs or obtain housing due to predjudice from employers and landlords.
There are two factors that affect whether a person who might benefit from mental health treatment actually seeks it: public stigma and self-stigma. Public stigma says to avoid the label and escape public stigma whereas self-stigma says do not go to treatment and do not suffer from self-stigma.
We need empower those with mental illness to fight the stigma surrounding those with mental illness. By giving a voice to the mentally ill, it creates more awareness surrounding the issues with stigma. People need to understand that there is no reason to put a label on mental health and look down upon those who try and seek treatment.