avoidance and withdrawal of many bipolar
patients, it is seen as breaking the social
contract and their world of social interactions
become much more reliant on their families
(Link et al. 2001). Bipolar patients were
compared to people with no mental health
problems in one study. The group of bipolar
patients were found to report lower levels of
self-power, self-activity and fewer positive
feelings of self-goodness than the nonpatients (Kroska & Harkness 2006). In our
society, while there are discrepancies between
the mentally ill and the non-mentally ill
people, the gap is not as dramatic as in other
societies. It is interesting to look at the
differences between groups in one society
compared to another society. While in our
society, the stigmatization of mental illness is
prevalent, there are ways of coping with the
stigma. In other societies the discrepancy
between mentally ill and non-mentally ill
patients is a far greater gap.
In a rural society in Ethiopia, mental
illness is not seen as a chemical imbalance in
the brain, but rather as a demonic possession
or as a bewitchment. Evil spirits play a crucial
role in mental illness which creates a
completely different stigma towards patients
with mental illness than the stigma
experienced in the United States (Shibre
2001). The families in Ethiopia are far more
concerned with the stigma of the mentally ill
because of the social support and the
traditional views of their society. In rural
Ethiopia, social support is how the
communities manage to thrive, relying on
each other for all things. Many families in
Ethiopia try to hide the treatment and
hospitalization of their loved one suffering
from the illness so that they can avoid the
stigma (Shibre 2001). Interestingly there was
less of a stigma placed on females and
younger people due to the possibility that
there is more tolerance towards those two
categories of people (Shibre 2001).
Stigmatization of mental illness is
common, not only in our society, but also in
rural societies. The stigmatization of mental
illness is not only harmful to the patients, but
harmful to the society as a whole. It has been
shown that the stigma of an illness can have
affects in more than just one aspect of the
person’s life.
The self-esteem and
demoralization of self-occur on the
psychological level, but it was also seen on the
material level with unemployment and lower
wages. Many bipolar patients have found
ways of coping with the stigma with both
challenging and deflecting methods. It would
be wonderful if one day, everyone was more
educated about the mental health world and
the stigmas were no longer present.
Works Cited
Belmaker, R. H.
“Bipolar Disorder.” The New England
Journal of Medicine. 351 (2004): 476-486.
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Kroska, Amy, and Harkness, Sarah K.
“Stigma Sentiments and Self-Meanings:
Exploring the Modified Labeling Theory of
Mental Illness.” Social Psychology Quarterly.
69 (2006): 325-348. JSTOR.
Link, Bruce G., et al.
“ Stigma as a Barrier to Recovery: Adverse
Effects of Perceived Stigma on Social
Adaptation of Persons Diagnosed With
Bipolar Affective Disorder.” Psychiatric
Services 52 (2001): 1627-1632. Google
Scholar.
Shibre, T.
“Perception of stigma among family members
of individuals with schizophrenia and major
affective disorders in rural Ethiopia.” Social
Psychiatry. 36 (2001): 299-303. Google
Scholar.
Thoits, Peggy A.
“Resisting the Stigma of Mental Illness.”
Social Psychology Quarterly. 74 (2011): 6-28.
Google Scholar.
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