Stigma Reduction

10 Ways to Use “Compassionate Language” Related to Mental Health Conditions

by

I’ve written quite a bit about how important our use of language is regarding mental health conditions and the people who have lived experience with mental health issues. Appropriate, respectful, “person-first” language helps to empower, heal, and validate people, while discriminatory, prejudiced, and disrespectful language can hurt, demean and stigmatize. Given my strong interest in this subject, I was thrilled to come across an extremely helpful guideline called “10 Ways to Combat Discrimination with Compassionate Language,” which was developed by …

Read more

Negative Effects of Using the Term “The Mentally Ill”

by

I’ve written before about using “person-first language” when referring to people with mental illnesses. To remind you, person-first language literally puts the person first and then their condition. In other words you would say “people with mental illness” instead of “the mentally ill.” Person-first language has been encouraged by many advocacy groups and organizations since the 1990’s. The argument goes that person-first language is more respectful and conveys more dignity to the person. Also, it puts the primary focus on …

Read more

How To Publicly Share Your Mental Health Story

by

In two recent posts, we talked about the “Honest, Open, Proud” program, which describes a process for deciding whether to disclose your mental illness to others. In the first post, “Should You Disclose Your Mental Illness?”, I reviewed lesson one, which helps you thoroughly consider the pros and cons of sharing your story. In the second post, “How to Begin to Disclose Your Mental Illness,” I went on to review lesson two from the program, which covers several different ways to disclose …

Read more

How To Begin to Disclose Your Mental Illness

by

In a recent post, I introduced the “Honest, Open, Proud” program, which addresses the issue of disclosing your mental illness to others. In that post, I reviewed the first lesson of the program, which takes you through a process for considering the pros and cons of sharing your story. The ultimate decision of whether to disclose your illness is yours alone to make. The final two lessons from the Honest, Open, Proud program assume that you have decided to share …

Read more

Should You Disclose Your Mental Illness?

by

If you have a mental illness, you may struggle with the difficult decision as to whether to share information about your illness with others. You may be reluctant to disclose your experiences for many reasons, including fear of rejection, shame, or not wanting to be labeled negatively because of the stigma associated with mental illness. How much people disclose about their illness can vary greatly. While some people don’t disclose their illness to anyone, many choose to share their experiences …

Read more

‘Deconstructing Stigma’ Through Faces and Voices

by

You’re walking through a large metropolitan airport and you notice a colorful 235-foot long display of striking 8-foot tall photographs of people of all different ages and backgrounds. Who are these people? You’re curious to know more. As you slow down and take a closer look, you notice the text accompanying the photographs. You quickly discover that all of the people are talking about their personal experiences with mental illness. Mental illness?! In a public airport? You read a little …

Read more

How to Become Stigma-Free

by

If you’re somewhat health conscious, you may have decided to opt for food or beverage choices that are sugar-free, fat-free, gluten-free or caffeine-free. Or perhaps you have achieved the admirable goal of becoming drug-free, smoke-free or even debt-free. But have you ever considered becoming stigma-free? If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know I’ve written a fair amount on the issue of the many negative effects of stigma related to mental illness and several simple but effective ways …

Read more

Ten Guidelines for How to Talk About Mental Health

by

I was giving a lecture to a group of college students and I described how to show respect toward people with mental health concerns by using appropriate language. As one example, I noted it’s better to say “John has schizophrenia” instead of “John is schizophrenic.” I explained how “John has schizophrenia” puts the emphasis on the person, not his illness, while “John is schizophrenic” equates the person with their illness and perpetuates negative labels and stereotypes about having a mental …

Read more