Stop The Stigma Campaign

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As part of the Stop the Stigma Campaign, The Hartford Hospital, The National Alliance on Mental Illness and various other Mental Health organizations work to not only address social stigmatization, but also to bring awareness of the harmful reality of self-stigmatization.
(see fig.4.) This can be seen in one of their campaign posters, through the depiction of an individual darkened out to the point of being unrecognizable. The figure is seen to be internalizing negative misconceptions and becoming consumed by doubt and fear as a result.

In her article, Self-Stigma and Mentalympians, Watson, evaluations and discusses the issue and reality of Self-Stigmatization and how it hinders those with mental illness from reaching out and seeking help.
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Unlike many other factors, stigma and discrimination at societal and personal levels may be “modifiable” risk factors. In conducted population studies, researchers found that there were fewer cases of suicides in areas that had lower levels of self-stigma as compared with areas with higher number of cases of suicide. In a qualitative study among people with mental illness, all of whom had a history of suicidal crises, a majority of them reported that stigma had contributed to their deepening their feelings at their lowest points (emotionally). However, much research in this area is needed to determine to strength of the relationship between stigmatization and risks for …show more content…
NAMI’s StigmaBusters newsletter consists of a network of advocates from across the country and the world who are dedicated to seeking and fighting inaccurate and hurtful representations regarding mental illness. Through their public letter-writing campaigns, they work to alleviate and dismantle the barriers of ignorance and unfounded discrimination through promoting further education and understanding. Since their start, the Stigmabusters newsletter has seen some success in removing offensive and questionable ads from both television and radio. They have also seen some success in educating media advertisers, producers, and writers about the impact their negative and inaccurate depictions on people with mental illness has on society. The advocates of Stimabusters newsletters, further argue that it is especially essential that those working in the mental health field such as Psychiatrics and Psychoanalysts, also work to combat negative media portrayals and encourage public education