Culture can create stigma or shame around mental health issues, leading to negative attitudes toward those who suffer from mental health conditions. Stigma can prevent individuals from seeking help while also influencing attitudes toward professional help and counseling.
Sarah Hancock-Hall is a certified sex therapist and owner of Morgan Street Therapy LLC in Rochester. She sees shame and stigma on a near daily basis in her practice. “Stigma is the reflection of a culture’s dysfunctional relationship with emotional wellness,” she says. “It can look like shame around sex, our bodies and mental health challenges, disconnection from pleasure, internalized homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, etc.”
Common challenges
Our culture often stigmatizes those struggling with mental health, issues with sex or other challenges that are hard to talk about. Hancock-Hall says, “I often say to clients that their issues are more common than they realize. Most of the challenges I see are highly treatable, but shame and embarrassment have created a barrier for people to seek help. This, of course, is rooted in cultural myths and stigma surrounding sex and mental health.”
Hancock-Hall tells us that avoiding discussion of issues can worsen the problem over time and can cause a cascading effect, creating additional unintended problems. “Speaking openly about your challenges is difficult in the short-term, but the long-term benefits are innumerable,” she says.
Stomping out stigma
Awareness of our culture’s impact on attitudes and treatment mechanisms is important but only a single step. Hancock-Hall encourages questioning and letting go of destructive internalized beliefs, adopting greater compassion toward oneself and our partner(s), assertive communication, healthy boundaries and breaking out of avoidant patterns. “You may have a challenge to address, but you are not broken,” she says. ::
