Link – Does Non-Verbal Mental Health Stigma Exist?
I’ve seen and experienced the things Laura talks about in the first paragraph, but don’t really recall anyone giving me odd looks.
“I see unspoken mental health stigma primarily as people’s behaviors toward those with mental illness. While many wouldn’t argue that avoidance, discrimination, and bullying can all factor into stigmatizing behavior, there is one type of behavior that, to me, is very much a facet of stigma.
That’s the way people look at us because of our mental illnesses.”
Granted, not many people were around to give me any strange looks, and I didn’t really have any visible scars that would have given away my mental health issues, but I do wonder how often this happens. Have you gotten strange looks from people because of your mental health struggles? Could you actually see the stigma in their looks even when they didn’t say anything? Do you identify with this article?
