What is meant by stigma in mental health?
People with mental disorders are sometimes subjected to critical and derogatory attitudes. The media, although it is not wholly to blame, often portrays stereotypes or fails to clarify misunderstandings, thus helping to perpetuate myths. People with mental disorders continue to experience prejudice and discrimination in every area of their lives, from finding somewhere to live to getting a job. It is up to all of us to become aware of the harm done by negative attitudes. Are people with mental illness violent? In current media reports, there is a tendency to emphasise the supposed link between violence and mental illness. News stories regularly suggest that there is a strong connection between mental illness and crime. However, the majority of people who are violent do not have mental illnesses. In fact, people with a mental illness are more likely to be victims, rather than the perpetrators of violence. This most often occurs when such factors as poverty, transient lifestyle and subst
