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In 2016, one in every five people experience some form of mental illness in one year, making up a large twenty percent of the American population and making up roughly 61.5 million people in 2015 alone. The idea of a mental illness stigma is in reference to the discrimination against the mentally ill for their mental disease. Many advocacy groups have worked tirelessly to provide information on mental illnesses and their effect on a person’s ability to function. These groups work along with the American Psychological Association to inform others on mental diseases.
Many mentally ill persons report that when they are institutionalized or require treatment for their mental illness, sympathy is nonexistent for them. Ruby Wax, a strong mental illness awareness advocate and comedian, argues this point in her speech “What’s So Funny About Mental Illness.” Many others hold the same opinion as Wax, believing the stigma still needs to improve. Others believe that the stigma is far better than it has been in past years. In a post published in August of 2015, WordPress user published a post where she stated “I’m very much aware that people do still suffer all of these things because of mental illness, however I also know that the incidences of such things [acts of discrimination] are less than ever before.” Still many feel the stigma is still in existence, some hold the opinion that this stigma against the mentally ill does not exist at all, as seen in Huffington Post articles such as “There’s No Stigma to Having a Mental Illness” by DJ Jaffe. In his article, Jaffe says “Stigma was eradicated years and years ago in many people who suffer from no-fault biological diseases.” Many others hold this opinion and say workshops on avoiding mental illness discrimination are of no assistance. So the question that is proposed here is: does a stigma against the mentally ill still exist? |
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