Prevailing attitudes could be making it harder to live with the condition.

Did you know that about 24 million or 4 out of 10 Americans living with a mental health condition avoid seeking treatment of any kind because of the stigma associated with mental illness and the mentally ill?

According to researchers, ‘perceived stigma is a significant barrier for patients seeking mental healthcare. Other barriers include lack of knowledge about mental healthcare, inability to recognize symptoms in [oneself], and inability to identify adequate healthcare resources for mental health symptoms’.

Perceived stigma is the self-stigma that the mentally ill individual internalizes.

It stems from their perception that deliberate discrimination is being directed against them by the people they know and routinely interact with as well as society in general.

Research by one of The Fund’s partners, the Collaborative RESearch Team to study psychosocial issues in Bipolar Disorder (CREST.BD), underscores the impact of stigma on people living with bipolar disorder:

‘Reducing stigma towards mental illness is critical. Higher levels of perceived stigma are associated with more severe symptoms and general impairment for people who live with bipolar disorder, as well as for their family members or caregivers. People with a high sense of stigma are more likely to withdraw from their social circles, experience depressive relapse, have slower recovery times from mood episodes, and be less likely to access effective treatments.’

Fighting stigma associated with bipolar disorder is critical because accurate diagnosis and treatment are likely to become available only after the individual has been battling the condition for as many as 8 to 10 years.

Statistics reveal that 1 out of 2 bipolar individuals who is yet to be accurately diagnosed and/or treated is addicted to alcohol.

Matters can be even worse for the uninsured bipolar individual.

Only about 1 in 10 of the mentally ill and uninsured is likely to receive adequate care. About 70% of this demographic is unlikely to receive any care at all.

Worse still, many states have cut budgets for mental health care, which has likely resulted in the partial spilling over of the problem into the nation’s prison system.

In general, stigma contributes to poor physical health and a lowered life expectancy (49 to 60 years) among the mentally ill.

Self-harm is another disturbing concern.

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, 9 out of 10 people who commit suicide had either i) a history of mental illness, or ii) a history of mental illness plus alcohol/substance use or addiction.

Incidentally, suicide is the #2 cause of death among adolescents and young adults, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Adolescence and young adulthood are the two life stages often associated with the emergence & diagnosis of several mental disorders.