The document explores the concepts of mental health, stigma, and public attitudes towards mental illness, referencing definitions and statistics from various sources. It highlights that stigma involves labeling and discrimination against individuals with mental health issues, and suggests strategies to combat stigma through education, protest, and personal contact. Recent survey data indicates a gradual improvement in attitudes but underscores ongoing challenges related to discrimination and comfort in discussing mental health.

1. Stigma
Victoria Betton

2. Me
@VictoriaBetton
Digital mental health
csvcnb@leeds.ac.uk
www.digitalmentalhealth.co.uk

3. Stigma
‘Stigma is the situation of the individual who is
disqualified from full social acceptance…
The stigmatized individual is reduced in our
minds from a whole and usual person to a
tainted, discounted one’
(Goffman, 1963)

4. What is mental health?
‘Mental health is not just the absence of mental
disorder. It is defined as a state of well-being in
which every individual realizes his or her own
potential, can cope with the normal stresses of
life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is
able to make a contribution to her or his
community’
World Health Organisation

5. What is mental distress?
‘Mental health problems include a wide range of
experiences: some problems may be quite mild
or moderate, while others may take on a more
severe form, affecting a person’s ability to cope
with day-to-day living. You may have heard
about some of the more common
problems, such as depression, anxiety, self-
harm, eating
disorders, schizophrenia, psychosis, stress and
bipolar disorder’ MIND

6. What percentage of people in the UK
might have a mental health problem
at some point in their lives?
• 1 in 3
• 1 in 4
• 1 in 10
• 1 in 50
• 1 in 100
• 1 in 1000

7. Attitudes to Mental Illness survey
2011
Table 16: Trends in proportion of people who might have a mental health problem, 2003-2011
2003 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Base: All adults in England Weighted 1712 1727 1696 1725 1717 1720
Unweighted 1632 1729 1703 1751 1745 1741
% % % % % %
What proportion of people in the UK do you
think might have a mental health problem at
some point in their lives?
1 in 1000 9 8 7 9 8 9
1 in 100 15 14 13 15 16 13
1 in 50 14 17 14 16 18 14
1 in 10 26 25 25 24 24 28
1 in 4 12 15 14 13 16 14
1 in 3 9 8 9 8 7 6
Don't know 15 13 17 15 12 16

8. Attitudes to Mental Illness survey
2011
• % of people agreeing that ‘mental illness is an
illness like any other’ increased from 71% in
1994 to 77% in 2011
• % saying they would be comfortable talking to a
friend or family member about their mental
health, for example telling them they had a
mental health diagnosis and how it affects them,
rose from 66% in 2009 to 70% in 2011
• % saying they would feel uncomfortable talking
their employer about their mental health was
43%, compared to 50% in 2010

9. Shifting public attitudes
The Sun (2003)

10. National Attitudes to Mental Illness
survey 2011
• 85% respondents in 2011 said that people
with mental illness experience stigma and
discrimination
• (50%) said they experience a lot of
discrimination
• 35% said that they experience a little
discrimination
• No significant change in responses 2010/ 2011

11. Goffman – Stigma (1963)
• Social interaction
• ‘normals’ and the ‘stigmatised’
• Social norms and expectations
• Subjective experience – self stigma
• Public stigma – withdrawal and exclusion
• Labelling – identity and dependence
• Media – influence and information

12. Functions of stigma
• Exploitation/domination – keeping people
down
• Enforcment of social norms – keeping people
in
• Avoidance of disease – keeping people away
(Phelan et al, 2008)

13. What are
everyday
words and beliefs
associated with
mental illness?

14. Asylum (2005)

15. Four components of stigma
(i) people distinguish between and label
personal characteristics
(ii) labels are linked to undesirable
characteristics which results in stereotyping
(iii) labelled persons are seen as part of an out
group
(iv) labelled people experience status loss and
discrimination.
(Link & Phelan, 2004)

16. Three approaches to challenging
stigma
• Protest – stigma as moral injustice
• Education – facts and figures
• Contact – interpersonal contact
(Corrigan et al, 2006)

17. What challenges stigma?
• Direct contact on equal terms
• Recovery orientated messages
• ‘See the whole person’
• Biomedical - ‘ pitying’
• Social context - ‘understanding’
(Corrigan, 2000)

18. Johnjusthuman
2012 Mind Media awards finalist
http://www.youtube.com/user/johnjusthuman

19. Time to Change
It’s Time to Talk TV ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dTgAGeNRpw

20. Your challenging stigma campaign
Design key features of your campaign:
• Audience
• Key messages
• Delivery
• Measurement

21. Thank you
@VictoriaBetton
csvcnb@leeds.ac.uk