Stigma and its social effects.

In the history of medicine, many conditions have been associated with stigma. In the past, epileptics were thrown into fire during the dark ages as they were believed to be possessed by Satan or evil spirits. Patients with leprosy were despised and exiled to far away islands because of the disfigurement due to disease. Even now this fear of lepers (!) lingers on in the society. I had occasion to live near a leprosy hospital. People used to hesitate to buy land near that compound. I have heard of many people who abandoned their plans to buy land only for of this fear even recently.

People infected with Syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases have also suffered a similar fate. Fate of HIV infected persons - how the community treated them, even small kids - is still fresh in our memory.
Why does this happen ? Fear of a disease may be due to the ugly disfigurement it causes, or because it is fatal / incurable, or because it produces unpredictable behaviors as in the case of mental illnesses. Moralistic beliefs could also shape our attitudes to illnesses.

Stigma can have individual and social effects. The plight of the individual affected with a stigmatizing illness is all too familiar. But the social effects may not be always easy to appreciate. I am aware of the stigma in the professional community. It is indeed shameful that even professionals (doctors and nurses) internalize such stigmatizing attitudes. This could be one reason why psychiatry is unpopular among doctors.
Things have reached a state where such wrong attitudes are causing public health problems. For example the number of qualified psychiatrists in the Kerala Government Health Services is steadily declining. Many government funded programs for treating mentally ill are feeling the squeeze. We are unable to get qualified psychiatrists. This is another effect of stigmatizing attitude of the society.
As I said in my earlier post we cannot wish away mental illnesses. Concerted effort of mental health professionals, media, N G O activists and the Government is needed to change this situation.