Understanding The Stigma of Mental Illness and Addiction
Living with a mental illness and addiction is challenging in many ways. You not only have the everyday struggles that come with substance use disorders and the symptoms of mental illness, but you also have to face the challenges that come with being viewed negatively due to stigmas, stereotypes, prejudice, and misconceptions about these disorders. Negative attitudes and beliefs are common in society, and can lead to discrimination, which can be overt, like rude comments made to your face, or they can be subtle, like a person avoiding you or choosing not to hire you because of assumptions that you will be unreliable, dangerous, or violent.