Mental Health Issues: Red Flags & Stigma in Education

“Changing how the public labels categories changes the associations those labels invoke in people’s minds, which in turn changes their affective attitudes toward what is being described.” – David Green, Hofstra University

“Words have power. They have the power to teach, the power to wound, the power to shape the way people think, feel, and act toward others. When a stigmatized group of people, such as those with mental illnesses, is struggling for increased understanding and acceptance, attention to the language used in talking and writing about them is particularly important.” Wahl, O. F. (June 1998).  People first language matters. The Bell (newsletter of the National Mental Health Association).

Words can define and limit potential. People with mental illnesses want to be known for their skills, talents, and abilities, not for their diagnosis or “label.” Like a physical illness, a mental illness does not define a person.

Terms such as “crazy” or “nuts” reinforce the discrimination and stigma associated with mental illnesses and may even keep those who need and want help from seeking treatment.

Factors that might indicate whether or not mental illness or people with mental illnesses are being stigmatized are called “red flags” and may include:

* Inaccuracies
* Stereotypes
* Portrayal as antagonists or villains
* Linkages to violence
* Disparaging language
* Devaluations or trivializations
* Using mental illness as the focus of jokes
* Offensive or insensitive symbols (e.g., straitjackets)

The average television viewer sees three people with mental illnesses per week, and most of these characters are portrayed as violent. The vast majority of people who have mental illnesses are no more violent than anyone else.

Inaccurate portrayals instill fear and stigmatize people who have mental illnesses.

Negative labels can lead to branding and shame – for example, when mental illnesses are used as labels – depressed, schizophrenic, manic or hyperactive, it can result in prejudice and/or discrimination. This is called stigma.

Stigma is not just the use of the wrong word or action. It is the use of negative labels to identify a person living with mental illness.

“She has a mental illness.” is the recommended means of referring to a person with a mental illness. Never use the term “mentally ill” or add qualifying terms such as “suffers from” or “victim of.”

Nearly 50 million Americans experience a mental disorder in any given year, only one-quarter receive mental health services.

From Professional Learning Board’s online continuing education course for teachers: Recognizing Early-onset Mental Health Disorders in Children