Westlake Porter Public Library’s 2023 Health Fair takes place on Saturday, November 4, and one of the featured events is Understanding Mental Illness at 2:30pm. It aims to “reduce the stigma of mental illness. Join us for a discussion with NAMI [National Alliance on Mental Illness] on misconceptions and improving communication. Learn about common mental health conditions. Hear ideas for self-care and care for the care-giver. Find new ways for communicating better with individuals with mental illness in your personal and professional life.” Register for this important program here.
As stated in Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness by Roy Richard Grinker, “According to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, stigma remains ‘the most formidable obstacle to future progress in the arena of mental illness and health.'” The stigma of mental illness is described by Grinker as “the process through which people who think or behave in ways that diverge from a society’s norms are alienated and abhorred … The stigma of mental illness is when your psychological state defines your identity; when people see you as flawed and incompetent; when you are invisible to others; or when people see your suffering but blame you for it.”
In addition to the above, here’s a number of resources at WPPL addressing the stigma of mental illness and how society and individuals can overcome it:
