Stigma – The Distinguishing Mark of Isolation

Stigma – The Mark of Avoidance

What is stigma really?  Stigma is essentially about marking for avoidance.   Example, you start something with great expectations for support.   People who may have given support to your project on its merits, strangely disappear.   Your resume suddenly does not seem so attractive anymore.

A perfectly good opportunity seems to be constantly wasted and you feel powerless to change things.   Eventually it begins to affect your self-esteem.   You give advice that works perfectly producing testimonies for others, but others seem detached because of your ‘skeletons’.

Stigma causes isolation

Stigma often results from fear of contagion.   In Biblical times, leprosy and the issue of blood were the most common reasons for stigma.   People stigmatize others when they feel that contact would put them at severe risk of loss.

Why do many South Asians regard mental illness as taboo?  – BBC News

Isolation brings loneliness

When you are the kid that no one wants to play with, it can seem cruel and a lonely experience in the playground.   When you are not in the ‘clique’ at work, you can feel inadequate. Isolation always brings loneliness.   Few friends around.   Even relatives seem distant.   Loneliness can be a dangerous slippery slope.   Loneliness can lead to depression, and sometimes even suicide.

If you have isolated someone and are reading this article today, do something.   Make a change and ring them before it is too late.

If you are the one who is isolated, speak to someone you trust about it immediately.  Don’t keep away.  Keeping away makes the isolation feel a lot worse.  You can talk to us in confidence about your feelings.  Get in touch with us.  We are only too happy to help.

Blessings and love always x

Have you ever felt abandoned because of mental illness or any other situation or condition?  How did you react?  Please share in the comments below.

About The Author

Zoe

Zoe met Eze (Chuck) in the 14th year of what turned out to be an 18 year ‘journey’ with mental illness. They got married less than a year of meeting with Zoe fully knowing Chuck had a diagnosis of mental illness. In the 18th year, Chuck defied the odds of mental illness. A consultant psychiatrist signed him off the mental health system with a bill of NO MENTAL ILLNESS. The consultant was so amazed by Chuck’s astonishing recovery that he even questioned how Chuck was diagnosed with mental illness all those years before, in the first place! Today Chuck is free from medication, its dependency and hospitalizations. Zoe’s award nominated book, DEFYING THE ODDS, chronicles the highs and ‘lows’ of this journey. Zoe, often writing from the standpoint of a caregiver, clearly understands that mental illness does not only affect an individual challenged with the disease, but also families, marriages and society as a whole.

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