Understanding Stigma: Misconceptions and Mental Illness

These misconceptions of mental illness lead to stigma. The most commonly used definition of stigma comes from sociologist Erving Goffman in 1963. He defined stigma as an "attribute that is deeply discrediting" and individuals who bear the stigma are reduced, "from a whole and regular person to a tainted, discounted one" (Goffman 5). Edward Jones’s book, Social Stigma: The Psychology of Marked Relationships, analyzes the many social mistreatments, of which stigmatized individuals are susceptible. The book first analyzes the origin of stigma, proposing they are derived from abnormal or “negative” attributes. The book goes on to say that stigmatized individuals often conceal their condition if they can, such is the case with mental illness. There

are more negative views towards people with a permanent condition than a temporary one. If an attribute, such as mental illness, causes disruption in someone’s interpersonal interactions, there is usually more fear towards those individuals. People feel more disgusted towards those with negative attributes, and more stigmatized a group is, the more they are feared (Jones).
An in-depth article, written in 2004, aimed to “measure” the mental illness stigma. The article examined 109 studies done on stigma towards mental illness between 1995 and 2003. Each study reviewed a different aspect of the mental illness stigma, such as stereotyping, believing in the separation between those with mental disease and ‘normal’ society, negative labeling, negative emotional response, and discrimination. The article concluded that 48.6% of healthy people were guilty of stigmatization of those with mental illnesses. It also concluded that 22% of those diagnosed, or admitting to having symptoms of mental illness were also guilty of stigmatizing those with mental illnesses (Link).
The results of these studies show that television portraying the mentally ill in stereotypical ways leads to an overwhelming stigmatization of those with mental illnesses. Stigmatization leads to discrimination, and discrimination keeps people from working and socializing with those who have mental health conditions. Friends and family of those with mental illnesses may become afraid of their loved ones, and single them out. Those diagnosed with mental illness start to self-stigmatize themselves, leading to the development of the “why try” effect (Corrigan et al.).
These social effects of stigma against those with mental illnesses deters them from seeking treatment for fear of judgement. They begin to believe they’re incompetent, undeserving of care, and responsible for their illness. These beliefs have negative impacts, because although there are many effective mental health interventions available, more than half of those suffering from mental illness don’t seek treatment (Corrigan et al.). The effects of treatment of those with mental illnesses came in a recent Washington Post article,
“At least one-third of the estimated 600,000 homeless suffer from schizophrenia or manic-depressive illness, and 28 percent of them forage for some of their food in garbage cans. About 170,000 individuals, or 10 percent, of our jail and prison populations suffer from these illnesses, costing American taxpayers a staggering $8.5 billion per year.” (Torrey)
On a grand scale, the misrepresentation of mental illness in television contributes to overwhelming consequences. Not only is television directly responsible for the stigmatization of mentally ill, they’re also the cause of mentally ill and all of society facing the consequences of untreated mental illness.
In effort to counter these effects, activists over the past few years demanded television shows to aim toward more politically and scientifically correct content.

By following these demands, the population that watches television may have a less stigmatized view of mental illness (Maron). SAMSA and the American Counseling Association actively recognizes television shows, films, and individuals who have raised mental illness awareness. In 2015, they awarded the television shows Empire, Elementary, and Madam Secretary for their portrayal of mentally ill characters as well-adjusted, relatively ‘normal’ individuals who fit into everyday society (“2015 Award Winners”). Instead of depicting these characters as violent, simple-minded, outcasts, the writers of these series stick to telling the truth about mental

illness.
Another prime example is United States of Tara, which takes on the challenge of portraying characters with mental illness correctly. The Golden-Globe and Emmy winning show aired on Showtime between 2009 and 2011. The “dramedy” revolves around Tara, a mother and wife struggling to balance family, marriage, and her mental illness. The main character is Tara, a wife and mother of two children in her early 40s diagnosed with DID. Tara alters include, “T.” a sassy teenager, “Buck” a rough biker, and “Alice” an Eisenhower-era homemaker (“United States of Tara”). Each personality is very distinctive with varying desires and interests.
The show explains in detail what DID is, and how Tara became diagnosed with it. Tara’s distinct personalities manifested in early childhood, and she slowly began developing DID. This particular mental illness conceptualized as complex chronic dissociative disorder characterized by a disturbance of identity and memory. DID is the most severe type of dissociative disorders, commonly marked by the manifestation of distinct personalities within one individual (McDavid 30). In Tara, Buck, T., Alice are the personalities that appear the most. Other, minor personalities are Gimme, the animalistic personality, and Chicken, the child-nature alter.
Mental illness, as a whole, has had many definitions and treatments over the course of history.

Archeologists speculate that treatment for mental illnesses dates back to the Neolithic era, where a hole would be chipped into the skull by a sharp object to relieve the patient of an evil spirit. The diagnosis and acknowledgment of particular types of mental illness date back to the 5th century BC in Greece (Harris). Since then, the classification of different mental illnesses has varied immensely. Some classification methods included a handful of diagnostic categories while others included thousands (“History of the DSM”). However, recent Western diagnoses of mental illnesses stem from Sigmund Freud in the mid-to-late 1800s (McLeod). Currently, mental illness is defined as a group of mental disorders that causes severe disturbances in thinking, feeling, and relating

(Harris).
Some mental illnesses are more stigmatized than others. Even though it was stated earlier that the more people watch television, the less they know about mental illness, the same didn’t apply to anxiety and mood disorders, such as depression (Kimmerle). While nervousness, emotional swings, and compulsions that come with mood and anxiety disorders are relatively relatable, it’s a more difficult for "normal" people to relate to other types of mental illnesses, with which they don’t share symptoms.
People have difficulty relating to dissociative disorders, like Tara's. These particular mental illnesses are disorders of the conscience, and are difficult to understand, even by professionals. An interruption in conscious awareness marks these disorders, hence the name "dissociative." Patients can become separated from the thoughts or feelings that they used to have, which can result in a sudden loss of memory or even change in identity (MacDonald 73).
Much like some other mental illnesses, the origin of DID is a long debate. On one hand, many experts believe it stems from psychological trauma, usually related to sexual trauma in early development. These experts firmly believe that since the psyche copes with trauma in various ways, it’s entirely natural for the conscience to wall off traumatic memories and block them from conscious recall. Experts on the other side of the argument believe that DID is a form of psychosis. Some experts on either side of the argument believe DID is overly diagnosed, or simply a more extreme version of borderline personality disorder (another dissociative disorder). However, it’s important to understand that the vast majority modern psychologists believe that DID is a real mental illness (Macdonald 75-82).
The controversy surrounding mental illness, and psychology as a whole, is based in academia and the general public not taking the science seriously. This affects the media’s portrayal of mental illness. Portraying the mentally ill as violent and uncontrollable doesn’t make people feel uncomfortable, but portraying their illnesses as valid is somewhat taboo. However, the audience’s comfort level shouldn’t damage the show’s credibility. Since there’s sufficient evidence showing the issues created by the mental illness stigma, one can argue that a problem can’t be fixed if it’s not discussed. The only argument to not discuss a topic because of a taboo, is simply the uncomfortableness it generates.
After Showtime first aired United States of Tara, the show received backlash as well as praise. The show became criticized for its lack of maintaining a balance between a comedic atmosphere and poignancy (Abele). Many critics were offended by the comedic approach toward mental illness. However, the main writer of the series, Diablo Cody, stated in an interview with the New York Times that she actively made sure the writers weren’t “poking fun at” DID. Cody said, “The pilot couldn’t be ‘sitcomy’ but, at the same time, it had to be funny. It was a big challenge to find the humor in everyday life and not poke fun at the disorder. And I wanted to be as sensitive as possible.” (McDowell). However, even if the show didn’t maintain a comedic balance, it’s still one of the only shows that portray mental illness in a favoring light.
Another common criticism of the series is the use of DID as a real disease, but the show depicts both sides of the argument. As mentioned earlier, even professionals are skeptical of DID. Although DID is a controversial topic, the series depicts the other side of the argument. The audience learns early on that Tara’s mother, father, and sister believe that Tara is “faking” having multiple personalities to gain attention. Tara’s sister makes it clear in many episodes that she doesn’t think Tara’s condition is real. In one episode, she even calls Tara “schizophrenic.” Although Tara’s family are obviously far from depictions of ‘expert’ opinions, it’s important to note their attitude reflects many professional psychologists’ views on DID. (United States of Tara).