Stigma: What it is and How to break the cycle of harm and heal.
What is Stigma?
Stigma is the experience of being treated as “less than” because of who you are or how you show up in the world. It can be a painful moment when one comes to realize that they have been quietly marked, or openly pushed outside of the circle of social acceptance, or community regard and care.
The process of being stigmatized often begins with obvious acts of ridicule or rejection. Other times it may come by way of a subtle look, or comment, or a shift in the social atmosphere that so forcibly communicates to one’s mind, body, and spirit the idea that “you don’t belong here” or “your presence is unwelcome.”
People perceived as different, misunderstood, or possessing marginal identities often bear the brunt of stigma. This is because their mere existence—how they speak, look, or act—may be perceived by others as not a good fit or compatible with communal social norms, values, or assumptions about what it means to be human or belong. When this occurs, individuals and community members who view themselves a possessing the qualities of community belonging may, intentionally or unintentionally, engage in acts of prejudice and discrimination that mark the identity and presence of others as discredited or disqualified and/or challenge or restrict their capacity to co-exist or thrive within community.
How it impacts your emotional or mental health?
Stigma doesn’t just hurt people’s feelings; it deeply impacts one’s ability to maintain emotional and mental well-being. It can erode an individual or community’s dignity, confidence, and self-worth, making it difficult for them to feel or sense their belonging within the grand scope of the broader human community’s mission and purpose.
Experience of prejudice and discrimination can lead individuals and communities into feelings of unsafety. One may then attempt to hide the very parts of themselves that make them who they are, but are often misunderstood by others or deemed unworthy of social regard. When hiding fails to prevent further harm and the stigmatizing acts continue, the emotional toll of these experiences can grow all too heavy for a person to bear. Being treated unfairly, again and again, can deplete individuals of their emotional and mental health!
Without support or relief, stigmatized individuals may gradually develop persistent feelings of shame, isolation, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. These enduring moods can then lead them to engage in high-risk coping behaviors (e.g., unsafe sex, substance use, or self-neglect) in an attempt to self-soothe or escape the emotional pain or trauma that stems from being victimized by stigmatization. Physical and mental health providers often classify these behaviors as maladaptive forms of self-harm, but I prefer to refer to them as coping strategies that people develop in order to survive overwhelming emotional pain.
What you can do to heal after experiencing stigma?
Healing from stigma begins when you choose to no longer sit in silence with your story! Seeking support, reconnecting with others who share or are willing to listen to your experience, and allowing yourself the opportunity to receive support & care from others can ease the pain and weight of being stigmatized. And within this framework of support, care, and community, you will begin to recall your dignity and worth, which stigma and those who engage in the stigmatization of others so desperately try to take away.
Through our sessions, support circles, and healing-centered reflections, K’SerraSerra® US offers a place to begin again this journey towards healing from stigma, just as you are.
Written with care,
Mario Gross
With honor, I would like to acknowledge sociologist Erving Goffman, whose foundational scholarship on stigma continues to shape the medical and behavioral health fields’ understanding of how social narratives—across individuals, families, and communities—affect emotional and mental well-being throughout the lifespan. ~ Mario Gross
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