According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in four adults experience mental illness each year. With this being such a common issue, it's surprising that mental illness is still heavily stigmatized by the general public.
I myself have experienced workplace discrimination and negative backlash for being someone who lives with a mental disorder. Some people, namely those unaffected by the harms done by them, think stigmas or stereotypes are not a big deal and that some people are being too sensitive or "politically correct" about issues concerning mental health. Mental illnesses are as real as any other illness. Just because they cannot be physically seen, doesn't make it any less real for the person dealing with them.
Stigmas about mental disorders are harmful because they erase the pervasive reality and treatability of mental illnesses of all kinds. This can keep people from seeking out help, which results in failure to diagnose the illness. Failure of diagnosis can have a domino effect and lead to much greater problems. People may ostracize them from society, which can lead to situations such as work-place discrimination, or employers may simply refuse to hire the person in the first place. Studies conducted by NAMI conclude, "Adults living with serious mental illness die on average 25 years earlier than other Americans, largely due to treatable medical conditions."
The stigmas surrounding mental illness do not simply amount up to "hurt feelings." Greater ramifications can incur as a result of undiagnosed cases such as unemployment, which eventually manifests into homelessness or in worse cases, death, due to lack of treatment.
According to an article published by Medscape and written by Heather Stuart, "Surveys of U.S. employers show that half of them are reluctant to hire someone with past psychiatric history or currently undergoing treatment for depression, and approximately 70 percent are reluctant to hire someone currently taking antipsychotic medication."
These unfortunate findings are within direct contradiction of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is supposed to protect people with physical and mental disabilities. However, many people with mental disabilities have been in involuntary unemployment for some time now. These findings may have seemed unbelievable to me before, but after experiencing what it's like to be in the workforce as someone with a mental disability, I know it is all too true. In fact, when working at a retail store, I had a discussion about my mental disability with a higher-level employee, who asked why I hadn't mentioned it before. I explained that I didn't want to give a bad first impression because of the shocking reaction people have about mental illnesses, in my case, a learning disability. I asked her what her honest thoughts would have been had I told her from the beginning about my mental disability, and she replied that she would have thought I was bluffing to use the disability as an excuse. She even said they would not have considered letting me transfer to their store.
Revealing your mental disability could reduce your employability, longevity in the company or even endanger advancement in the career field, since many people who admit to having mental illness are not considered for higher-level positions.
Conversely, there can be positive benefits to disclosing one's own mental disability. NAMI states, "The most significant benefits to consider in making the decision to disclose a psychiatric disability include eligibility for protection against discrimination under antidiscrimination legislation; access to workplace accommodations such as flexible hours, advocacy and support from a third party such as a job coach; access to employment as a peer counselor in the mental health system and a host of psychological benefits such as increased self-esteem and reduced stress associated with ongoing concealment."
When I spoke about my mental illness and educated people about it, the pressure of hiding it and fear of judgment was gone. I was able to perform better at my job. When there is a stable and understanding environment for people with mental disabilities, the benefits are great for both parties. However, this can only be accomplished if we all work together to eradicate negative attitudes toward mental illness.