Stigma and discrimination

There’s still stigma and discrimination attached to mental health problems. Research we carried out across Scotland found that 71% of people with a mental health condition have experienced stigma and discrimination.

If one in three people in Scotland experience mental health problems, and around two thirds of those face stigma and discrimination, that’s over a million people in this country who are being treated unfairly when they’re struggling.

That's why See Me is passionate about tackling the prejudice, ignorance, and misguided stereotyping about mental illness. Stigma and discrimination can make people who are unwell feel worse. It can stop them asking for help and ultimately could be the difference between life and death. 

Tackling stigma and discrimination has to be at the centre of all work to improve people’s mental health, because if people continue to be treated unfairly then they’re much less likely to have any level of recovery.

Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and to receive fair treatment if they are ill or distressed. A broken leg takes time and medical support to heal. A broken mind is no different.

Find out more about how stigma relating to individual mental health conditions can affect people and where to get further information. 

“One of the hardest things about having a mental illness is when you’re open enough to talk about it and people hold you at arms length. They see you differently and your diagnosis becomes your label.” Kat