the Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health has highlighted that radical action is needed to end stigma and discrimination against people with mental health conditions and their families around the world.
The Lancet Commission’s report on ending stigma and discrimination in mental health, which sets out key recommendations to achieve this goal, is the result of a collaboration of more than 50 contributors around the world.
The commission aims to define stigma through this report and to summarize the evidence of how stigma is currently experienced by people with lived experiences of mental health conditions around the world and to assess the impact of large-scale programs to combat stigma. stigma, among others.
Peer victimization dropped after an average of 25 weeks of participation in a program that uses social contact to bring together peers with and without disabilities for shared activities in school and community settings, according to the report.
Regarding suicides, the report states, the results showed that psychoeducation and interpersonal contact significantly reduced stigma, which was maintained at one month of follow-up.
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the worsening mental health situation around the world, with studies showing there was an estimated 25% increase in the prevalence of depression and anxiety in the first year of the pandemic .
“Many people with lived experiences of mental health conditions describe the stigma as ‘worse than the condition itself.’ There is now clear evidence that we know how to effectively reduce and ultimately eliminate stigma and discrimination. Our Commission makes eight radical, practical and evidence-based recommendations for action to free millions of people around the world from social isolation, discrimination and human rights violations caused by stigma,” said Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft, Co-Chairman of the Commission, from King’s College. London has said in the report.
Additionally, the report also explores the roles of the media, traditional and newer digital media, in promoting or reducing stigma.
The Commission has provided a four-part definition of stigma in its report: self-stigma, stigma by association, public stigma and structural stigma.
According to the commission, self- or internalized stigma occurs when people with mental health problems are aware of and agree with negative stereotypes of others and turn them against themselves.
Globally, people with mental health problems commonly experience restrictions on employment, voting, property ownership, marriage, and divorce.
The Lancet Commission also emphasized that culture has a strong influence on stigma due to the role it plays in deciding what is considered socially accepted behavior and in defining the causes of mental health conditions and how they are treated.
(With contributions from the PTI)
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