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Mental Health Messaging Needs To Address Social Exclusion
We suggest that those suffering from mental illness be open about their predicament but still socially exclude them for their problems.
Mental health advocacy and activism have become prominent aspects of modern popular culture. Generally, this has manifested through calls to be more open about one’s mental health and seek treatment when appropriate. For the most part, this is a good thing. Statistically, mental health stigma has precipitously declined over the past two decades. In some cases, the popular culture surrounding mental health can undermine its ambitions. It often serves to ostracize the mentally ill, resulting in the further diminishment of their conditions. This isn’t a call to halt mental health advocacy. Instead, it is a call to enhance it through better public messaging and a better appreciation for social nuance in such messaging.
The popular cultural slogan of “being open” has a significant role to play. Being open is not, in itself, problematic. If someone is suffering from a mental health condition, one of the best things they can do is talk about it transparently with friends, family, and a professional. However, the prescription to “be open” about one mental illness isn’t stated with any qualifications. That is, when should we be open about our illness? Are there ever times when it isn’t a good idea to be open? And it’s this lack of guidance that is potentially undermining mental health advocacy.
Social exclusion for the mentally ill is still wide-spread
For a substantial percentage of individuals struggling with mental illness, it is either the case that poor socialization is a symptom of their ailment or one of the causes of their condition. “Poor socialization” can include struggling with picking up on social cues and/or behaving in ways that can appear standoffish to those unfamiliar with mental illness.
Research shows that such behavior results in the social exclusion of those suffering from mental illnesses. And this isn’t just the case for illnesses often perceived as “extreme,” such as personality disorders or psychotic disorders. This is the case with conditions as…
