In the United States, more than one in five adults live with a mental illness such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. Yet despite how many lives these conditions affect, stigma remains a major barrier to people seeking needed support. Marie DiDario, chief medical officer of RWJBarnabas Health Behavioral Health Center, outlines key strategies for shifting cultural attitudes and reducing the shame that prevents people from seeking care.
Education and Language
Breaking stigma begins with understanding. Learning about symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options helps replace fear with empathy. Language choices also matter significantly: dismissive or hurtful words like “crazy” or “unstable” reinforce harmful stereotypes. Using respectful, people-first language—saying “a person living with bipolar disorder” rather than “a bipolar person”—reinforces dignity and reduces shame, despite seeming like a small shift.
Opening Dialogue
Personal experiences humanize mental health conditions and help break the silence that stigma thrives in. When people feel safe discussing their struggles without fear of judgment, healing can begin. Speaking up when hearing stigmatizing language or misinformation also matters. DiDario emphasizes that a diagnosis is helpful for treatment but does not define a person—those living with mental illness are parents, teachers, students, friends, and community members whose challenges represent only one part of their story.
Supporting Treatment Access
No one should feel ashamed for seeking help or encouraging others to do so. Early intervention and access to treatment make a life-changing difference. Therapy, medication, peer support, and community resources all play roles in recovery and resilience. The message for this Mental Health Awareness Month is clear: building a culture where mental health is understood and supported with the same care and seriousness as physical health requires commitment from individuals, institutions, and society collectively.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.newswise.com/articles/rwjbarnabas-health-expert-speak-up-to-break-the-stigma-around-mental-health/?sc=rsmn