Stigmatization of people with psychiatric diagnoses

Assuming that psychiatric diagnoses describe the essence of people causes discrimination.

Stigmatization is a process by which a person is made to have a set of characteristics that are considered socially undesirable. It is therefore a process connected with discrimination and social exclusion..

Unfortunately, stigmatization is also a highly frequent process in the clinical spaces where mental health professionals work (and not only in mental health). This has had very negative consequences both for people with a diagnosis and for their families, which is why it is currently a relevant and much discussed topic in different spaces.

In this article we explain what stigmatization is, why it occurs, what consequences it has had, and what it has had on people with a diagnosis of stigmatization. and through which proposals it has been attempted to mitigate in different contexts.

Psychosocial stigmatization: from stigmatization to discrimination

The use of the word "stigmatization" makes it possible for us to take up the concept of "stigma" and use it as a metaphor in social studies. Stigma in this context refers to a trait or condition that is attributed to a group of people and that causes attitudes and which causes negative attitudes or responses to be established towards them.

The application of the term "stigma" in sociology was popularized by Erving Goff. was popularized by Erving Goffman in the 1960s, who defined it as a "deeply discrediting attribute" that relates to a negative stereotype about physical traits, behaviors, ethnicity, or individual conditions understood in terms of danger (e.g., "stigma", "stigmatization", "stigmatization", "stigmatization", "stigmatization", "stigmatization", "stigmatization", "stigmatization"). diseases, migration, illnesses, delinquency).

Thus, stigmatization is the process through which a group acquires a differential trait or a "mark" of identification, which is valued by other groups as the outstanding trait, resulting in different forms of discrimination against this "marked" group.

The reason why stigmatization causes discrimination is because it is a process in which our attitudes come into play, understood as a phenomenon of cognitive, cognitive and cognitive components. a phenomenon of cognitive, affective, and behavioral componentsAlthough they are distinct from each other, they are strongly connected.

It is these attitudes that help us to classify or categorize what surrounds us in terms of "good" or "bad", "undesirable" or "desirable", "adequate" or "inadequate", which often also translates into "normal-abnormal", "healthy-sick", etc.

These categories, being loaded with affective and behavioral components, allow us to establish parameters in interpersonal relationships, allow us to establish parameters in interpersonal relationships.. For example, we avoid approaching what we have categorized as "undesirable," etc.

Who is usually affected?

Stigmatization is not a phenomenon that only affects people diagnosed with a mental disorder. It can affect a large number of people and for different causes.. We generally speak of "vulnerable" collectives or groups to refer to people who are systematically exposed to stigmatization and discrimination.

The term "systematically" is important because, far from being vulnerable per se, these are people who are constantly being made vulnerable as a result of a given social organization and structures. People who are constantly exposed to situations of exclusion, and who paradoxically have fewer possibilities of being protected.

In this sense, discrimination is not only an individual phenomenon (which determines how we relate to a particular person), but a structural one, which is also found in policies, in manuals, in the social structures of society. is also found in policies, in manuals, in the way public spaces are configured, in other spheres of life, and in the way in which people are treated.in other spheres of social life.

Thus, for example, there may be stigma, negative attitudes towards racialized people, towards people with disabilities, towards people living in poverty, towards non-heterosexual people, towards people with different medical diagnoses, to mention just a few.

Danger as stigma in "mental disorders".

The social imaginary of dangerousness in relation to "madness" has evolved significantly over time. has evolved significantly over time. Such evolution has been largely reinforced by the care structures that in many places still exist.

For example, the asylum institutions on the outskirts of cities, which confirm the myth of dangerousness in the social imaginary; as well as coercive practices without informed consent, or with forced consent.

Danger and violence have become stigmas because they cause us to recognize them as the recognize them as the salient features of the person with the diagnosis.The logical consequence is automatic and generalized exclusion, i.e., it occurs even if the person has not committed violent acts.

Fear and exclusion: some consequences of this social phenomenon

If danger is what we evoke most quickly when we think of "disorders" or "mental illness", then the next logical reaction is to establish distance, because with danger our alarms are activated and with this our fears.

Sometimes they are activated in such an automatic and involuntary way that it does not matter if they are justified fears or not (many times the people who feel more "fear" are those who have never lived with someone who has a psychiatric diagnosis). The also logical consequence of all this is that people with the diagnosis are constantly exposed to rejection and exclusion..

And unfortunately, mental health professionals are often not exempt from the above. In fact, in an attempt to understand this phenomenon and counteract it, in recent decades a huge number of scientific studies have been conducted that analyze the stigmatization of health professionals towards service users, and how this hinders care and creates more problems than solutions.

Another of the consequences of the stigmatization related to psychiatric diagnoses is that, by being understood as negative, dangerous and synonymous with chronic illness and a source of constant discomfort, people who may be in need of psychiatric care are more likely to be stigmatized than stigmatized.people who may need the attention of a mental health service limit or stop themselves from seeking that attention.

In other words, stigmatization provokes fear and rejection not only towards people with the diagnosis, but also towards seeking mental health services, with the result that the discomfort intensifies, the suffering is not accompanied, the behaviors become more problematic, etc.

Alternatives and resistance

Fortunately, in the face of the unpleasant panorama described above, the specific case of people who have a diagnosis of mental disorder has been proposed as a subject that deserves special attention since people with a diagnosis themselves and their families have spoken out against stigma and discrimination.

The latter has recently been supported by many mental health professionals, as well as by many public policies and international organizations. In fact, October 10 of every year has been established by the UN as International Mental Health Day..

Likewise, on different dates and places around the world, people with a diagnosis have claimed the recognition of the diversity of bodies and experiences, as well as the need to continue fighting against stigma in mental health and to seek above all respect for rights.

Bibliographic references:

• López, M., Laviana, M., Fernández, L. et al. (2008). The fight against stigma and discrimination in mental health. A complex strategy based on available information. Journal of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry, 28(101): 43-83.
• Muñoz, A., and Uriarte, J. (2006). Stigma and mental illness. Norte de Salud Mental, (26): 49-59.