I’d like to share an essay that I wrote at the start of the year for Youth Studies, which focuses on how the stigma surrounding mental illness has influenced and continues to influence my personal experience with mental illness.
The stigma surrounding mental illness is one of the major social constructs impacting on the societal understanding of mental illness and affects the way in which individuals with mental illness are perceived and treated (Conrad & Barker). Goffman (1963) classes stigma as “a ‘mark’ that signals to others that an individual possesses an attribute reducing him or her from ‘whole and usual’ to ‘tainted and discounted’” (Pescosolido, 2013). The stigma associated with mental illness in current society, whilst illustrates the social fault lines of a society that produces such prejudice and discrimination, it also is negatively impacting those with mental illnesses. With the prevalence of mental illness in society today, especially prominent in young people, the societal constructs and understanding of mental illness play an important role, impacting upon an individual’s experience of mental illness. This essay will first, briefly explore how the generational differences between the social constructs and understandings around mental illness; by looking at the influence they’ve had on my mum’s battle with depression and how that has impacted on me. I will then focus on my personal experience with mental illness drawing on how the current social constructs and understandings have influenced my experience. Both my mother and I suffer from mental illness; my mum had post-natal depression after she had my sister in 2001, and I have a severe anxiety disorder which as I side effect I’m forced to battle with depressive episodes.
Alongside the biological and psychological components of mental illness, social constructionists argue that the meaning and experience of illness is also shaped by cultural and social systems (Conrad & Barker, 2010). Early sociologists such as Freidson (1970) acknowledges the social consequences of an illness label, highlighting the power of discourse plays an important role in the social constructs surrounding mental illness (cited in Conrad & Barker, 2010). The stigma of mental illness over the years have altered in understandings and with the growth in research the stigma has slowly changed (Pescosolido, 2013). Rooted in social relationships and shaped by the structure of society and the culture, stigma is a social phenomenon negatively impacting on those with mental illness (Pescosolido, 2013).
Belonging to ‘generation x’ my mother’s experience with depression is significantly different to my personal experience, with the alternate social constructs of mental illness, which have gradually evolved. For ‘generation x’ there is a strong societal view that mental illness is all in your head, that you have control, as a result of such views people with mental illness who sought help were and are labelled as weak and a failure, a view that has negatively impacted on my mum. Despite the scientific research that highlights how there can be a chemical imbalance in one’s brain which can result in mental illness, and in order to help restore balance the use of medication can be used, the stigma around mental illness for my mum’s generation, in particular, don’t see the benefits associated with medication. The difference in societal constructs for my mum’s generation with the stigma of mental illness worse than it is today has infringed on me and in addition the relationship I have with mum.
My mum relied on me heavily as her only source of venting, which placed an enormous weight on me. In year nine things rapidly went downhill for me, my anxiety grew out of control and I was caught in a nasty depressive episode which faced me with my first thoughts of suicide. I hid my suffering for a long time, having seen my mum do it; I thought it was the right thing to do. A teacher eventually intervened directing me to headspace where I met my psychologist; who I continue to work with today. I soon realised that my mum’s reliance on me as her outlet wasn’t right or fair to me and so I was forced to ask her to stop confiding in me, which only ended negatively. I don’t have the greatest relationship with my mum; I hide the truth of how I’m really going in fear of eliciting the response I got when I asked her to stop speaking to me about all of her problems “You’re obviously better off without me, I’m the reason you’re suffering, I’m going to pack my bags and leave, you’re better off without me.” My mother’s feeling of failure I think was influenced heavily by her mental illness and the social constructs of her generation causing her to believe that because of her mental illness she was and still is the problem.
My personal experience with severe anxiety and depressive episodes has changed over the years as I have too. One key thing that impacted me when I was first suicidal was when I found myself in the classroom with two boys telling me to “go dig a hole and kill yourself, no one wants you here, you’re better off dead.” A joke they called it well to me there’s nothing to joke about suicide and or mental illness, for me at the time it validated my feelings that I was better off dead. I began to notice how regular my peers made such comments, and how suicide became normalised but not in the right way. The stigma associated with mental illness is still there, mental illness is misunderstood by the general public, including my peers. During my later high school years, I was somewhat marginalised by my peers and even some of my teachers, due to the stigma surrounding mental illness.
I have had my ups and downs with having severe anxiety and depressive episodes, I’m currently facing one of my biggest challenges yet with my mental illness. I recently was presented with the possibility of becoming an in-patient, which horrified me to the point of tears, I found myself caught up in the stigma of mental illness. I became fearful of the societal view that I would be seen as a ‘nut-case’ a common term associated with those mentally ill, but in addition, I would have to go to the ‘nut-house’. Just like my battle with my mental illness is constant so is my battle in resisting the stigma of mental illness, and ensuring that I don’t become marginalised because of something that I suffer from.
Living with severe anxiety, depressive episodes and suicidal ideation has allowed me to see the negative impact of the social constructs and understandings of mental illness not only on those with mental illness but that of the general public and how they view mental illness. The stigma of mental illness is a key influence on societal constructs and understandings of mental illness. Through my personal experience I know that society has a long way to come in destigmatising mental illness, but through my readings, I’ve seen how far society has come and I believe it is possible to erase the stigma of mental illness along with the constraints society places on it. Whilst I wish to become a secondary teacher rather than a youth worker, my experience with mental illness particularly within a secondary school environment for a long time has further enlightened my passion to work with young people. By becoming a teacher whilst I’ll be able to teach, I will also be able to provide a level of pastoral care to young people and perhaps help someone as some of my teachers did for me.
REFERENCES:
Conrad, P & Barker, KK 2010, ‘The Social Construction of Illness’, Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, vol.51, no.1, pp.S67-S79, viewed 19 May 2017, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022146510383495
Dixit, S 2005, ‘Meaning and Explanations of Mental Illness, Psychology and Developing Societies, vol.17, no.1, pp.1-18, viewed 19 May 2017, http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1177/097133360501700101
Markowitz, FE, Angell, B & Greenberg, JS 2011, ‘Stigma Reflected Appraisals, and Recovery Outcomes in Mental Illness’, Social Psychology Quarterly, vol.74, no.2, pp.144-165, viewed 19 May 2017, http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/doi/full/10.1177/0190272511407620
Pescosolido, BA, 2013, ‘The Public Stigma of Mental Illness’, Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, vol.54, no.1, pp.1-21, viewed 19 May 2017, http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1177/0022146512471197
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