The stigma of mental illness, similarly to the stigma of other severe general medical conditions (e.g., epilepsy, obesity, cancer, infectious diseases), is a transcultural and widespread public health problem. Evidence suggests that severe mental illness frequently correlates to discrimination, negative assumptions, and attitudes despite country, culture, and education. More recently, self-stigma, also known as internalized stigma, gained more attention in both clinical and research fields. It refers to the internalization of ideas and the reaction of those affected by a particular form of stigma and is characterized by a subjective perception of devaluation, marginalization, shame, and withdrawal. The prejudicial treatment of people with severe mental illness has been related to poor health outcomes, personal functioning, and quality of life. Indeed, self-discrimination may frustrate people from participating in significant areas of life, such as work, social life, education, and relationships. Highlighting the linking relation between discrimination, prejudice and the negative consequences of self-stigma for people with mental illness is essential to adequately manage emerging techniques and interventions that have been developed to help a person reduce self-stigma.
The main goal of this Research Topic is to evaluate the impact and role of self-stigma, in all its negative consequences, on individuals with serious mental illnesses (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, eating disorders).
We aim to better characterize the implications of self-stigma on clinical practice, understand how self-stigma can negatively affect patients' quality of life and functioning, and synthesize effective strategies that might diminish self-stigma and their effects to help overcome it, as well as, strategies that people living with mental illness can use to cope with the negative consequences of self-stigmatization.
• Studies focusing on dealing with self-stigma using clinical interventions coupled with self-esteem.
• Papers in this special issue will focus both on a synthesis of the current literature including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and commentaries, and emphasizing big, bold recommendations for how to move forward in advancing mental illness and the negative effects of internalized stigma, research, and practice through how to apply strategies to counter it.
• Studies describing self-stigma towards mental illness among how negative messages about mental illness can be absorbed into our beliefs and thoughts.
• Studies describing automatic thoughts and negative thought and how these thoughts can lead to internalized stigma.
• Studies describing methodologies and frameworks to understand how to apply a variety of strategies to help protect people with mental illness from the hurtful and harmful effects of mental illness stigma and internalized stigma.
The stigma of mental illness, similarly to the stigma of other severe general medical conditions (e.g., epilepsy, obesity, cancer, infectious diseases), is a transcultural and widespread public health problem. Evidence suggests that severe mental illness frequently correlates to discrimination, negative assumptions, and attitudes despite country, culture, and education. More recently, self-stigma, also known as internalized stigma, gained more attention in both clinical and research fields. It refers to the internalization of ideas and the reaction of those affected by a particular form of stigma and is characterized by a subjective perception of devaluation, marginalization, shame, and withdrawal. The prejudicial treatment of people with severe mental illness has been related to poor health outcomes, personal functioning, and quality of life. Indeed, self-discrimination may frustrate people from participating in significant areas of life, such as work, social life, education, and relationships. Highlighting the linking relation between discrimination, prejudice and the negative consequences of self-stigma for people with mental illness is essential to adequately manage emerging techniques and interventions that have been developed to help a person reduce self-stigma.
The main goal of this Research Topic is to evaluate the impact and role of self-stigma, in all its negative consequences, on individuals with serious mental illnesses (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, eating disorders).
We aim to better characterize the implications of self-stigma on clinical practice, understand how self-stigma can negatively affect patients' quality of life and functioning, and synthesize effective strategies that might diminish self-stigma and their effects to help overcome it, as well as, strategies that people living with mental illness can use to cope with the negative consequences of self-stigmatization.
• Studies focusing on dealing with self-stigma using clinical interventions coupled with self-esteem.
• Papers in this special issue will focus both on a synthesis of the current literature including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and commentaries, and emphasizing big, bold recommendations for how to move forward in advancing mental illness and the negative effects of internalized stigma, research, and practice through how to apply strategies to counter it.
• Studies describing self-stigma towards mental illness among how negative messages about mental illness can be absorbed into our beliefs and thoughts.
• Studies describing automatic thoughts and negative thought and how these thoughts can lead to internalized stigma.
• Studies describing methodologies and frameworks to understand how to apply a variety of strategies to help protect people with mental illness from the hurtful and harmful effects of mental illness stigma and internalized stigma.
