Diminishing the self-stigma of mental illness by coming out proud

Lessons learned from unintended consequences about erasing the stigma of mental illness

“…This in turn was related to diminished stress related to self‐stigma and disclosure, as well as being more willing to ask for help when in need. In the second, multisite study, women who completed COP showed significant reductions in depression compared to those in the control group. These effects were mediated by significant reductions in self‐stigma and stress related to self‐stigma.…”

Honest, Open, Proud for adolescents with mental illness: pilot randomized controlled trial

“…As there are other interventions to reduce self‐stigma, including narrative, psychoeducational, and acceptance‐based approaches (Tsang et al., ), future work should compare their efficacy among young people. Our findings suggest stronger HOP effects in this age group compared to previous RCTs among adults (Corrigan et al., ; Rüsch, Abbruzzese et al., ). Several explanations are possible and could be examined in future research: Young people may be more open to discuss and change their views on disclosure; they might be more optimistic to deal successfully with stigma; and they may have a larger social network than adults with a long history of MI and thus have better opportunities to test, practice, and evaluate disclosure‐related choices.…”

“…Honest, Open, Proud (HOP) is a peer‐led group program that supports participants with MI in their disclosure decisions. HOP has so far only been evaluated in two RCTs among adults with MI (Corrigan et al., ; Rüsch, Abbruzzese, et al., ), and both showed positive effects on stigma‐related stress.…”

Developing a research agenda for understanding the stigma of addictions Part I: Lessons from the Mental Health Stigma Literature

“…People with mental illness are dangerous!”), followed by (3) self‐Application (“I'm mentally ill so I must be dangerous.”) which (4) negatively Impacts self‐esteem (“I am less of a person because I am mentally ill and dangerous.”) and self‐efficacy (“I am less able to accomplish my goals because I am mentally ill and dangerous.”). Self‐discrimination causes the “Why Try effect.” “Why try to seek a job; someone like me is not worthy.” “Why try to live independently; someone like me is not able.”…”