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Scottish Mental Illness Stigma Study findings launched

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 28th September 2022
Scrabble pieces spelling out mental health

The survey has uncovered the severity of stigma and discrimination for people with experience of severe and enduring mental illnesses.

The Scottish Mental Illness Stigma Study is a first of its kind piece of research for Scotland.

The Scottish Mental Illness Stigma Study was commissioned by and carried out on behalf of See Me, Scotland’s national anti-stigma programme, in partnership with the Mental Health Foundation Scotland, Glasgow Caledonian University (School of Health and Life Sciences), and The Lines Between.

The Study aims to identify the experiences of stigma and discrimination faced by people who reported living with severe, complex, and/or enduring mental illness in Scotland.

The survey highlights that people holding back from events and activities across every life area explored in the survey, including personal, public and professional spheres. The life areas where stigma and discrimination were reported to be experienced most frequently were relationships with family and friends, physical healthcare services, social media, mental healthcare services and mass media.

The five life areas where stigma and discrimination were reported to have the greatest impact were relationships with family and friends, employment, mental healthcare services, healthcare services and social media.

The survey found that people are withdrawing from friendships, not pursuing employment opportunities, and stopping themselves from getting medical assistance when feeling unwell.

Some of the key findings include:

  • 92% of participants say that they have experienced stigma in relationships with family and friends in the last year.
  • 53% said they respected themselves less because they will not recover or get better.
  • Of those who had faced stigma in relationships, 82% expected others would not want to be their friend due to their mental illness.
  • 77% said they had been treated unfairly at work.
  • Of those who had faced stigma in mental healthcare services, 58% had avoided calling an ambulance or attending A&E in relation for emergency mental healthcare.

You can find out more and read the full report on the See Me website (this link will take you away from our website).

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