May is Mental Health Month_ Overcoming Stigma in Mental Health Treatment

1. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Treatment Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Treatment S u n d a y, M a r c h 1 2 , 2 0 2 3 #BeTheChange and #SeeTheChange: It’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week May is Mental Health Month: Overcoming Stigma in Mental Health Treatment DBT and the Treatment of Depression: A Guide Recovering from a Breakup with Borderline Personality Disorder   What Makes Life Worth Living? How Can I Support My Friend with An Eating Disorder? THIRA Health - Behavioral and Mental Health Articles Home About Me Thira Health View my complete profile Labels Borderline Personality Disorder BPD Breakup Cycle BPD diagnosis Chronotype DBT Skills DBT Skills Training DBT Therapy DBT Tool Depressive Disorder Depressive Symptoms Dialectical Behavior Therapy Eating Disorder Eating Disorder Recovery Elephant Mindfulness Healing from BPD Life Lessons Life Worth Living Major Depressive Disorder Mental Health Mental Health Month Mental Health Struggles

2. Mental Health Treatment Morning Person National Suicide Prevention National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Night Owl Overcoming Stigma Pumpkin Spice Effect Recovering from a Breakup Self-Soothing with DBT Suicide Prevention The Pumpkin Spice Effect THIRA Health Over 70 years ago, Mental Health America began Mental Health Month to reduce stigma and cultivate healthy conversations about mental health. Their work is essential, and the message of Mental Health Month remains one that we place at the center of our healing mission within THIRA Health. Challenging disapproval and overcoming the hurt it causes is at the heart of everything we do to foster whole person care. Types Of Stigma What Makes Life Worth Living What’s The BPD Breakup Cycle? Blog Archive March 2023 (11) February 2023 (4) What Does Stigma Mean In Mental Health? The definition of stigma is “a mark of shame or discreditation,” but there is typically no visible mark that makes someone who is open about their mental health feel judged. Instead, for the millions of Americans managing mental health conditions every day, stigma is a feeling of rejection, disbelief, or challenge to their lived experiences. The Types Of Stigma While most types of mental health stigma are embedded in the fabric of our culture, there are different ways that it shows up in your life. Every individual will experience this kind of disapproval differently, and you may feel some types of judgment more acutely while others aren’t relevant to you at all. Our programs at THIRA Health all have an active component built into our DBT philosophy designed to help address this in every facet of your life. Self-Stigma This inwardly-directed disapproval puts you at the center of struggles you experience and is a barrier to finding solutions. When you negate, downplay,

3. and ruthlessly punish yourself for your mental health condition, whatever it may be, you disempower yourself. Stigma turned inward can be the most difficult to spot because it becomes ingrained in the way you think about yourself and the world around you. This type may contribute to negative self-talk that perpetuates feelings of guilt, fear, anxiety, or depression when your perception of yourself is skewed in a negative way. Public While self-reproach is internalized, public stigma is often the catalyst for and informs this mindset. This includes ideas and values that are broadly held and the popular opinions that permeate our thoughts and attitudes, often at levels we are not consciously aware of. It’s the belief that those suffering from mental health issues are somehow “lesser,” that they’ve brought it on themselves, or that they should be able to just “snap out of it.” This is how our ideas of mental health become skewed, both individually and as a society. This perspective may have you keeping your mental health issues to yourself rather than sharing it with those who could offer support or insight. Professional At work or school, there can be a subtle and more insidious discrediting that instills fear in seeking treatment. When you avoid identifying what’s going on with you, reject a formal diagnosis, and refuse treatment, the threat of professional stigma now or in the future is usually central to that. Professional disapproval is the worry that if your work, school, or colleagues found out how you really feel, they may ostracize you, not consider you “capable or ready” for a promotion, or create some other form of negative judgment. Other Types Of Stigma Some types are more situational or specific than the clear delineation of where they come from. These kinds of stigma may be related to the use of a

4. particular term or identity (label stigma), concerned with doctors not trusting or believing you (medical or credibility stigma), or even a stigma around who you spend time with and how that might impact your relationship (association stigma). It’s the thinking that you make bad choices for yourself, perhaps exaggerate or are dishonest about your perception of your illness, or that your friends are contributing to what’s “wrong” with you. Five Ways To Get Treatment Without Worry Here are several things you can do right now to make your healing journey more comfortable. 1. Set (and enforce) boundaries with the people who make you feel inadequate or unsafe. 2. Talk about your experience with (supportive) friends or on social media. 3. Find an advocate in your support community to help you banish self- stigma. 4. Share reliable information, facts, and statistics about mental health. 5. Journal your ideas to share with your mental health team when you’re in treatment. So what does stigma mean for THIRA Health? The thoughtful and immersive programs at THIRA Health create and cultivate a safe space to focus on your healing each day. It offers you the chance to begin to heal, reduce experiencing self-blame and self-reproach while actively receiving support and learning the tools to help you cope. Our team is here to help you work through the finer points of how to talk to family and friends about your treatment. To learn more or to begin your own journey this Mental Health Month, reach out to us today. Source: https://www.thirahealth.com/2022/05/09/may-is-mental-health-month- overcoming-stigma-in-mental-health-treatment/