Stigma of Mental Illness: Lesson #7
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1. What are some of the negative things you
have heard about people with mental illness?
2. What are some of the positive things you
have heard about people with mental illness?
3. What is a stigma?
4. Why do you think people with mental illness
are stigmatized?
5. Can you think of any other health conditions
or social issues that have been stigmatized?
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6. What kinds of factors have contributed to
changing public attitudes around some of these
conditions or issues?
7. What do you think influences perceptions
about mental illness?
8. How do you think stigma affects the lives of
people with mental illness?
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A cluster of negative attitudes and beliefs that
motivate the general public to fear, reject, avoid
and discriminate against people with mental
illness
About disrespect
The use of negative labels to identify a person
living with mental illness
A barrier
FEAR OF
STIGMA
And the
discrimination
that comes with it
discourages
individuals and
families from
getting the help
they need.
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Watch first two sections
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Providing information based on reliable
research
Effective advocacy and public education
programs
Proximity or direct contact with people with
mental illness
Programs that help people to become better
integrated in the community
Treatments and supports
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Learn more about mental illness
Listen to people who have experienced mental
illness
Watch your language
Respond to stigmatizing material in the media
Speak up about stigma
Talk openly about mental illness
Demand change from elected representatives
Provide support for organizations that fight
stigma
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MENTAL HEALTH – the emotional and
spiritual resilience that enables us to enjoy life
and survive pain, disappointment, and
sadness. It is a positive sense of well-being and
an underlying belief in our own and other’s self
worth
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Everyone – we all have mental health just like
we all have physical health. People with mental
illness also have mental health, just as people
with a physical illness also have physical wellbeing
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MENTAL ILLNESS – a term that describes a
variety of psychiatric (emotional, thinking and
behavioural) problems that vary in intensity
and duration, and may recur from time to time.
Major mental illnesses include Anxiety, Mood,
Eating, and Psychotic Disorders. Mental
illnesses are diagnosable conditions that
require medical treatment as well as other
supports.
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MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS – refer to the
more common struggles and adjustment
difficulties that affect everybody from time to
time. These tend to happen when people are
going through difficult times in life
(relationship ending, death, conflict in relations
with family or friends, stresses at home, school
or work). These are usually short term
reactions to a particular stressor, painful event
or illness.
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Watch the third part of video series on
resources that can help
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www.cmha.ca/highschoolcurriculum
Go to module 2/activity2: Mental Health and
Mental Illness: The Common Basis / watch
together and complete questions that go with it
We are going to examine how brain
functioning works in order to later examine
some mental illnesses where brain functioning
is not functioning properly