How Does Stigma Affect Mental Health in Older Adults?

Negative attitudes towards common mental health issues often make overcoming them more difficult. Sometimes the worst stigmas are those we impose upon ourselves, and are particularly difficult to evade without a helping hand. At Lake Ridge Village, located only two miles south of Eustis, FL, we pride ourselves on supporting our seniors through loss, grief, and turmoil of all kinds.

If you're interested to learn more about the question, "How does stigma affect mental health?" we've put this article together just for you. Read on to find out more!

How Does Stigma Affect Mental Health?

Stigma is the word for negative attitudes and beliefs that lead people toward feeling contempt or disdain for a particular characteristic. People tend to discriminate based on ignorance and fear, leading them to be wary or hostile in the face of differences such as:

• Mental health conditions

• Ages

• Races

• Disabilities

Nowadays, issues surrounding mental health struggles have become less clandestine as conversation has opened the subject up for healthy discussion and debate. This isn't the case for many seniors, as their view has yet to develop much in the way of sympathy or empathy for such things. For many seniors, social stigma, self-stigma, and institutional stigma have yet to fall to the wayside.

Social Stigma

Social stigma occurs when something negative is believed by the community at large. In the case of mental health issues, many seniors believe negative emotions are simply a part of getting old and nothing to complain about. Many serious issues are trivialised in this way, causing the sufferer to assume the issue is something to hide rather than resolve.

Stereotyping causes untold damage too, further trivializing issues that may be far more severe than they first appear at face value. Judgment and exclusion are common punishments for those who speak of their mental health too freely. Before long, repeat offenders are labeled as "attention seeking" or "overly emotional."

Social stigmas are also at risk of being compounded by lifelong cultural influences. In many cultures to even broach the subject of mental illness is taboo, and to do anything other than remain stoic in the face of adversity is considered unsightly. Fortunately, open discussion often changes minds when it comes to stigmas, and our seniors are no different.

Self-Stigma

While dealing with the furtive glances and unwelcome remarks of social stigma is undoubtedly unpleasant and painful, we can still escape to solitude. Not so with self-stigma, as there's no escaping self-flagellation for as long as we're willing to punish ourselves. Seniors often internalise the same social stigmas previously mentioned, and suffer from them with or without the help of others.

This means shouldering the burdens of shame, guilt, and diminished self-worth at our the behest of ourselves. Seniors internalise damaging stereotypes based upon their age, and worry they're too old to be helped, or otherwise nothing but a burden on those around them.

Age-related shame and fear of being a burden are common among seniors and are propped up by self-stigma. Fortunately, speaking our minds is often enough to see that our fears are unfounded, and another reason we encourage our seniors to voice their concerns at Lake Ridge Village.

Institutional Stigma

Institutional stigma refers to stigmas upheld by biases within an organisation, such as social services or healthcare. Unscrupulous services are sometimes known to marginalize or otherwise dismiss the needs of seniors, depending on their social policies and practices to save on money. At Lake Ridge Village, we're aware of the damage institutional stigma often has and are proud to say you'll find none with us!

Inadequate care is a direct result of institutional stigma and leads to misdiagnosis or under-treatment. Failure to catch an issue because it wasn't taken seriously enough is disastrous and can worsen many age-related conditions, such as depression or dementia. It's no surprise that seniors would lose all trust in a system so sorely lacking.

Minorities and low-income individuals also bear the brunt of institutional stigma, limiting their access to care and potentially exacerbating untreated mental health issues. It's clear to us that stigma has no positive part to play in any system, let alone a system designed to support and maintain the health of its residents. This is a fact we take to heart at Lake Ridge Village, and a philosophy we do our best to uphold.

Reducing Stigma in Aging

Fortunately, reducing stigma isn't difficult so long as it's addressed directly. There are many effective strategies for doing so, but we find education and open discussion concerning senior mental health awareness to work particularly well. Workshops that address stigma in all its forms are a great idea too, especially when family and friends can come along.

Mindfulness is also a fantastic tool for enabling seniors to contend with stigma, especially where self-stigma is concerned. Ultimately, it becomes clear to anyone who takes the time to turn the idea of stigma around in their mind for a while that it's not worth the time or energy to perpetuate such negativity. Emotional wellness for seniors hinges on the ability to nurture a positive outlook, a strategy that has no room for stigma.

The beauty of open communication when it comes to touchy subjects is that they're quickly seen for what they are. Once voiced, many thoughts and worries are nowhere near as shameful or embarrassing an issue as we'd have ourselves believe. What's more, we often find others feel exactly the same as we do!

Mental Health Support Eustis

We see firsthand the benefits of coaxing our seniors into addressing their thoughts and emotions in a community setting. When the topic of stigmas is broached, our residents have a lot to say on the matter. The relief of understanding that stigma isn't necessary and we all struggle with similar issues is a palpable one, and a comfort that doesn't soon leave us.

We hope this article has answered the question, "How does stigma affect mental health?". If you have any questions regarding our methods or Lake Ridge Village resources, please feel free to reach out! We'd love to hear from you.