Stigma means a negative marking of people just because of a diagnosis of mental illness, and usually refers to schizophrenia. It is associated with prejudice or negative attitudes that are based on the wrong “fact” that schizophrenia cannot be cured. Stigma, in principle, is caused by a combination of ignorance and fear, which is creating a foundation of rooted myths and prejudices. Looking trough the history, schizophrenia is a disease that remained as one of the few medical issues associated with a feeling of discomfort, fear, prejudice and avoidance in the public. Probably a large part of the public is not familiar with the fact that in some hospitals, mental patients are treated in the basement, that somewhere there are still ten patients in one room and that the majority of mentally ill citizens do not have access to high quality and efficient but also very expensive drugs. Stigma and self stigmatization create a feeling of low self-esteem and fear of rejection because such people avoid the media and rarely agree to speak publicly about the illness. Lack of knowledge and understanding of mental illness contributes to stigmatization. It is therefore very important to educate patients, their families and journalists, all to a better understanding of mentally diseased persons and reduce stigmatization. Adequate and fair media coverage can significantly reduce the current level of stigmatization of mental patients and facilitate their functioning in family and society.
Key words: stigma, mental illness
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