"Because we live in a visual society, we assume that people are ‘more disabled,’ if we can see their disabilities. What do we do with this information?” This article from Custom Mobility Inc. has 2 calls to action: 1) it challenges “able-bodied people” not to make assumptions about people and their conditions before getting to know them, and 2) it challenges people with disabilities to fight stigma both internally and externally by understanding the distorted perceptions that can come from society. Click the title to access the full article.
As an Iowa community discussed the construction of a new inpatient mental health hospital in 2018, Marty Parrish responded to their stigmatizing remarks by sharing his personal story with mental health and addiction issues and the importance of inpatient treatment for his recovery. "I was always afraid of being judged because of the stigma against people with mental health," he said in a recent interview. "But after that very hostile meeting in Clive, I had to tell my story. I had to talk."
“Before the 60s, Ionia doctors viewed schizophrenia as an illness that afflicted nonviolent, white, petty criminals, including the hospital's considerable population of women from rural Michigan… By the mid- to late-1960s, however, schizophrenia was a diagnosis disproportionately applied to the hospital's growing population of African American men from urban Detroit. Perhaps the most shocking evidence I uncovered was that hospital charts "diagnosed" these men in part because of their symptoms, but also because of their connections to the civil rights movement.” Click the title for the entire article by Psychology Today.
“I understand, but I wish that more families would be open about suicide. I say this not only for the public at large, which would benefit from knowing the full truth about suicide. Not only for others who lost a loved one to suicide and who are further stigmatized when suicide is considered so shameful that it must not be named. Not only for those who have attempted or seriously considered suicide, and who are hurt by the notion that what they did is shameful. I say this also for the family itself.”
“If you’re living in a shelter you’re looked upon as someone who doesn’t care or have a purpose in life, which isn’t the case. It takes time dealing with the stigma that comes from misconceptions such as: “You’re uneducated.” “You won’t work.” “You’re just plain worthless.” Society turns the other way because they believe you are these things, before even giving you a chance.”
This first-person account explores the stigma, social implications, and obstacles for receiving help as a homeless person. “We need to look at the various stigmas or labels we put on people who are homeless and stand up and be accountable for the way we treat them. We need to learn to give trust. Don’t be blinded by the stigmas that are put upon them.” Are you seeing clearly? Refocus and look again. Click the title for the full article from HomelessHub.
