BY ASHLEY WERNER

In print | October 25, 2007

Having traditionally taken the word “stigma” for granted, I was struck by Harold Maio’s indignation over its use, expressed in his article “Re-evaluating Stigma” in The Phoenix’s October 11th issue. Maio claims that by describing the experience of living with a mental illness in society with the word “stigma,” we turn the concrete experience of prejudice and discrimination into an abstraction.

After exploring more of his writings that address the role of language in attaching shame to mental illness, I saw that Maio brings to light an important point: the term “stigma” carries the connotation of a pervasive atmosphere of discrimination, but does not identify particular actors or actions to hold accountable. In using the term while failing to elucidate the specific circumstances that leave one feeling branded or “stigmatized,” we paint ourselves in defenseless opposition to an over-arching and untouchable force. Unlike race, class, and gender issues at Swarthmore, we, as students, have yet to deconstruct the behavioral patterns giving rise to a sense of “stigma” surrounding mental health issues.

Despite the problems inherent to the word that cause Maio to argue against it, many living with a form of mental illness do experience a sense of submitting to, resisting or overcoming something unnamable, amorphous and nearly ubiquitous in their interactions with society; an experience which they term “stigma”. These interactions may range from exposure to advertisements, watching television, socializing at a party or talking with a close friend.

In any of these situations, when the individual experiences a sense of stigma associated with mental illness, he or she may not be consciously aware of the particular image, statement, tone of voice or facial expression that signaled discrimination or prejudice on the other end of the interaction. Yet, environmental cues may trigger this “sense” experienced as an awareness of a negative or biased misperception of individuals with mental illness or even simply as a physical response causing the individual to, for example, tighten up.

In learning to recognize and name the signals that make one feel stigmatized, we can begin to address existing prejudices with concrete examples of their manifestations. Unlike Maio, I would not call for “immediate apology or redress”, even though deserved, but for dialogue serving to demystify and humanize the experience of persons who have lived with a mental illness. As a community, we must first shine light on our unacknowledged prejudices surrounding mental illness and then take responsibility to drop the preconceived notions with which we categorize and brand people. We must develop an awareness of discriminatory qualities within our own words, actions and inactions, as well as those of our media, our schools and our friends. From this springboard, we can move beyond old mentalities by cultivating a culture rooted in an open-minded desire to understand those around us in which compassion, not judgment, is our first instinct.

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