Lo stigma nella salute mentale

Stigma still represents a significant barrier within contemporary society for people suffering from a mental disease. These individuals are discriminated on multiple sides (personal, professional, judicial, etc.) because of false cultural stereotypes and prejudices. The individual with a mental disease is also victim of a self-stigmatization process: he ends up to internalize the prejudicial and stigmatizing visions related to inferiority and shame feelings, and contributes to undermine self-esteem, discouraging himself to ask for help and to undertake specialized care, with a significant worsening of the outcome. We need to rethink and to intensify social anti-stigma interventions at different levels and educate to the respect of human rights with specific and targeted campaigns.