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Kayla Wardle 

Mrs. Jackie Burr, Instructor 

English 2010, Section 3 

February 18, 2020 

An Open Letter to America on Mental Health Stigma 

Dear America, 

If you had to call in sick to work, would you rather say you had a kidney stone, or that 

you were depressed and suicidal? Or would you rather say that you threw out your back or had a 

panic attack? Would you rather say that you had a migraine headache, or that you were strung 

out on prescription pain medication? If you answered the former for each scenario, you are 

affected by mental health stigma. This scenario is a thought experiment presented by psychiatrist 

Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman in his TedTalk, “Imagine There Was No Stigma to Mental Illness” that he 

uses to illustrate the widespread effects of mental health stigma. Stigma affects all of us in our 

everyday lives, though we are frequently unaware of it. Psychologists Patrick W. Corrigan and 

David L. Penn define public stigma against mental illness as “a set of negative attitudes and 

beliefs that motivate individuals to fear, reject, avoid, and discriminate against people with 

mental illness.” Psychology is a relatively young field of science, and as such, we know little 

about the brain compared to other organs of the body like the heart or lungs. Lack of education, 

fear, and the social stigma around admitting to mental illnesses has kept us from understanding 

what mental illness actually is. Mental illnesses are conditions that affect a person’s thinking, 

feeling or mood and interfere with their day to day life. These conditions may include anxiety 

disorders, depression, post-traumatic-stress-disorder, and ADHD. The causes and cures for 
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mental illnesses are still largely a mystery to the human race, however, more people are affected 

by mental illness than you probably think. The National Alliance on Mental Health reported that 

about twenty percent or one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year. Statistically, 

this means that everyone in the U.S. should know at least one person that suffers from a mental 

illness whether we are aware of it or not.  

Despite the commonality of mental illnesses, talking about them has become taboo in a 

way that discussing physical illnesses is not. Fear, lack of understanding and misrepresentation 

in the media have created a strong social stigma around mental health issues. For many, it can be 

harder to admit to going to cognitive behavioral therapy to treat an anxiety disorder than it is to 

discuss the physical therapy you are receiving for a broken bone. Mental illnesses have also been 

widely misrepresented in the media which has led to the spread of false information. Mentally ill 

individuals are often depicted as incompetent and dangerous to society in movies and TV shows. 

This inaccurate portrayal of mental illnesses in American media has led us to wrongly fear and 

isolate mentally ill people.  

While stigma is overall detrimental to the understanding of psychology in American 

society, it can also be extremely dangerous for those suffering from a mental illness. Social 

stigma can cause fear and shame and, as a result, mentally ill individuals may decide not to seek 

treatment out and avoid admitting to their problem. Lack or delay of mental health treatment can 

be extremely dangerous and unfortunately, happens all too often. According to the National 

Alliance on Mental Health, “the average delay between [mental illness] symptom onset and 

treatment is 11 years.” A delay in treatment as extensive as over a decade can cause conditions to 

worsen in individuals which end be detrimental to their daily lives for years. There is a strong 
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correlation between untreated mental illnesses and suicide. In the United States, suicide is the 

2nd most leading cause of death for Americans ages 10 to 34. Overall, the suicide rate has also 

increased significantly in the last decade, growing 31% since 2001 (“National”). Mental illness is 

clearly an ongoing issue in our society that is not going away and therefore should not be 

ignored. 

Thanks to organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, mental health 

awareness is being spread to combat the social stigma. NAMI works to provide “advocacy, 

education, support and public awareness” around mental illness in order to improve the lives of 

mentally ill individuals. They are located in every state and frequently hold awareness events 

around the country. Organizations like NAMI provide information and education about mental 

illness to the general public which helps combat stigma, but there are some things that only we, 

as individuals can do for our communities.  

The most important tool we can use to combat stigma is knowledge. Stigma causes 

people to feel ashamed for things that are out of their control and may prevent them from seeking 

the treatment they need. By educating yourself on mental illnesses and mental health resources in 

your community you can help not only yourself but also your peers and neighbors. Educating 

ourselves and others allows us all to become a little more aware of when mental illnesses are 

being improperly portrayed or mocked in our society. It is important to call out and educate 

others when they are stigmatizing mental illness, however it is also important to not harbor any 

self-stigma. This can be more difficult than you might think. Self-stigma, more often than not, 

comes in a form of putting ourselves down or isolating ourselves when we might be struggling 

with some form of mental illness as well. Proper mental health is achieved by not being afraid to 
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ask for help or seek treatment when we are struggling. By being open with our own struggles 

with mental illness we may be able to help others that are too afraid to ask for it. The ultimate 

goal should be for mental illnesses to be treated equally to physical illnesses. After all, they are 

both often out of our control; the only difference is that mental illnesses reside in the brain rather 

than another organ such as the heart. By working to educate ourselves and others and hold 

discussions in our communities, we have the power to normalize mental disorders. Eradicating 

stigma is the first step in building a better world for ourselves and our neighbors who dealing 

with an overlooked illness.  

   
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Work’s Cited 

Hallemann, Caroline. “Prince Harry Just Gave a Powerful Speech at This Year's WE Day.” ​Town

& Country​, Town & Country, 6 Mar. 2019,

www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a26708102/prince-harry-we-day-speech-

transcript-2019/. 

Heath, Sara “Key Barriers Limiting Patient Access to Mental Healthcare.”

PatientEngagementHIT,​ 6 Aug. 2019,

patientengagementhit.com/news/key-barriers-limiting-patient-access-to-mental-healthcar

e.

Lieberman, Jeffrey. “Imagine There Was No Stigma to Mental Illness.” TED. 11 Jan. 2016.  

Lecture.

“National Alliance on Mental Illness.” NAMI. www.nami.org.