III.

Attitudes Toward Mental Illness

In most societies mental illness carries a substantial stigma, or mark of shame. The mentally ill are often blamed for bringing on their own illnesses, and others may see them as victims of bad fate, religious and moral transgression, or witchcraft. Such stigma may keep families from acknowledging that a family member is ill. Some families may hide or overprotect a member with mental illness—keeping the person from receiving potentially effective care—or they may reject the person from the family. When magnified from individuals to a whole society, such attitudes lead to underfunding of mental health services and terribly inadequate care. In much of the world, even today, the mentally ill are chained, caged, or hospitalized in filthy, brutal institutions. Yet attitudes toward mental illness have improved in many areas, especially owing to health education and advocacy for the mentally ill.