Why Is There a Stigma Around Mental Health in Senior Living?
When you try to talk to an elderly family member about mental health, do they avoid or brush you off? The website Verywell Mind says that people with mental illness often hide their symptoms and their deepest feelings from other people. Older people are quite susceptible to this kind of mindset.
A distinct generational mindset is a major contributing factor, but that's far from the only reason.
Here in Boca Raton, Senior mental health awareness efforts have to overcome some serious challenges of stigma and prejudice to overcome seniors' views.
So, why is there a stigma around mental health, and what can we do to help? Read on to learn more about this crucial topic.
Why is there a Stigma Around Mental Health? The Types of Stigma
So, why is there a stigma around mental health? Mental health stigma is a broad concept, and there are three main subcategories. Understanding them is a crucial part of improving mental health outcomes for seniors.
Societal Stigma
Societal stigma is when people spread negative or harmful attitudes about mental health. This type of stigma can spread through:
- Negative comments: Mental health stigma can easily spread through careless small talk and ignorant comments
- Stereotyped media depictions: When movies and TV shows have mentally ill characters, they're usually quite negative representations
- Dismissing concerns: Friends, family members, and even doctors can fail to take valid senior concerns seriously
- Staying silent: If you don't discuss your own mental health struggles, it's doubtful seniors will either
Beating societal stigma will take incremental change through countless small actions and interactions. By understanding mental health stigma, you can be part of this positive change.
Internalized Stigma
When people take unfavorable stereotypes or ideas about mental illness as fact, it can result in internalized stigma, which makes them feel ashamed and self-conscious about how others will see them. When you internalize stigma, it can lead to:
- Low self-esteem: Negative beliefs about yourself make it difficult to maintain a sense of self-respect
- Avoiding help: Feeling ashamed can prevent people from seeking the support they need
- Social withdrawal: Fear of judgment can cause individuals to isolate themselves
- Increased symptoms: Internalized negativity can exacerbate existing mental health problems
Sociologist Sara Ahmed highlights how such labels have a "sticky" quality to them. Once you've internalized mental health stigma, it is challenging to get over the negative self-image it creates. We need to protect people's self-esteem and reduce social stigma.
Organizational Stigma
When hospitals, schools, or workplaces reinforce negative stereotypes about mental illness, we call it organizational stigma. Organizational stigma can appear through:
- Not noticing symptoms: Professionals may mistakenly think that signs of mental illness are caused by age or other unrelated things.
- Insufficient training: Without proper training, employees might misunderstand mental health issues.
- Insufficient resources: Companies may not put mental health first, and people who need support might not get it
- Bureaucratic barriers: Complicated processes and paperwork may discourage people from seeking help
Supporting seniors when they interact with government or medical organizations is the best way to shield them from organizational stigma.
The Consequences of Stigma
Mental health stigma causes suboptimal outcomes in healthcare, interferes with relationships, and affects self-esteem. Effective community mental health awareness needs to bring closer attention to the negative consequences of stigma in aging.
How Stigma Affects Healthcare Outcomes
According to figures from psychiatry.org, over half of people struggling with mental illness because they're afraid of facing stigma and judgment. Stigma is a huge barrier to emotional support for older adults because seniors because it makes them much less likely to ask for help from the doctor.
Even a doctor with the best mental health education can't help a patient if they never schedule an appointment. Sadly, there are also some doctors who allow stigma to influence medical decisions. In some cases, the physician isn't even consciously aware of their own prejudice.
If you suspect a doctor is being dismissive because of a stigma-based attitude, you have every right to ask for a second opinion. If you're facing bias on an organizational level, consider looking for a new family doctor.
How Stigma Impacts Relationships
There are a lot of misunderstandings about mental health that keep seniors from talking to their friends and family. When people fear being judged, they pull away from the people who care. This makes it harder to maintain meaningful relationships.
Loved ones might misinterpret this behavior as disinterest or deliberate hostility. Seniors steer clear of touchy subjects out of fear of rejection or shame, which makes conversations feel hollow.
Even the most well-meaning friends and relatives can unintentionally reinforce stigma through careless comments. Taking no action is also problematic, as avoiding difficult discussions reinforces the idea that mental health is a shameful topic.
Ultimately, stigma isolates seniors when they need help the most. The only way to prevent this is to encourage open and empathetic conversation.
How Stigma Harms Self-Esteem
Stigma surrounding mental health seriously undermines the self-esteem of seniors. Those struggling with it often report intense feelings of inferiority and shame. Seniors who internalize mental health stigma may feel weak for struggling emotionally.
Holding on to negative thoughts can make you feel less confident, which can make you feel even more alone and less likely to ask for help. This internalization of stigma can exacerbate mental health issues by strengthening negative self-perceptions.
Beating stigma means creating a supportive space that respects the worth of seniors and boosts their self-esteem and confidence in their emotional strength and resilience.
Assisted Living and Mental Wellness
In this article, we've investigated the question: "Why is there a stigma around mental health?"
Dispelling the stigma associated with mental health requires educating individuals, families, and organizations as well as transparently addressing damaging stereotypes. Seniors experience improved health outcomes and can lead authentic, fulfilling lives when they feel confident in disclosing their emotions.
At Veranda Club, we think that no senior should have to deal with their mental health problems by themselves. So, we incorporate mental wellness into our daily routine. Would you like to see how our options for independent living help seniors lead rich, satisfying lives? Contact us today to set up a tour of our independent living accommodations.