Those who experience serious mental health issues often face stigma from society, but a new study has found that their close family members also bear the brunt of that stigma.
One out of three family members of those dealing with little-understood mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or disordered thinking reported that they feel isolated and stigmatized simply for this close relationship.
Family members reported feeling loneliness, isolation, and feelings of blame or failure. Many felt unsupported, with a third passing the threshold for experiencing stigma by association. Another participant reported that their sister had cut them off since discovering the mental illness of that participant’s close family member.
“The few times when the public hears stories about people with schizophrenia, they hear about someone who hasn't been taking their medicine, or acts of violence,” Goldberg said. “These ideas become the basis of the stigma, and families are then associated with it.” The feeling that society blamed them for their relative’s mental illness was something reported by many family members.
The study found that family members who struggle with this feel as though they cannot talk about their experiences because of fear of overshadowing their relative’s struggles, or hurting them, and ended up feeling as though their own lives were less important on the whole.
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