Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Mental illness stigma and gun violence

Do you know what mental illness stigma is? Mental illness stigma is a set of negative or unfair beliefs that a society has surrounding mental illness, such as believing it is a weakness. This can cause people who have a mental illness to feel ashamed or to avoid getting the help or treatment they need. Now that you know what mental illness stigma is, see if you can identify it with the Can you recognize mental illness stigma? Quiz.

To learn about how mental illness stigma is connected to gun violence, check out the articles and quotes listed below.

The following contains references and stories about gun violence.

After the shooting in Parkland, Florida, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention released the article, “Debunking the Myth of Violence and Mental Illness,” which discusses the myth surrounding gun violence and mental health.

Similarly, after the shooting in Boulder, Colorado, USA Today released the article “Family said Colorado suspect had 'mental illness.' Experts say that's rarely the cause of mass shootings,” which contains the following quotes about mental illness, gun violence, and how linking the two creates further mental illness stigma:

• "There's no psychotic illness whose symptom is shooting other people." - Dr. Jonathan Metzl, director of the Center for Medicine, Health and Society at Vanderbilt University
• "People are searching for explanations for behavior they don't understand. It's easy to put a label like mental illness on behavior that frankly seems just beyond the pale."- Angela Kimball, national director for advocacy and public policy at the National Alliance on Mental Illness
• “When people unfairly connect mass shooters with mental illness, it stigmatizes the millions of people living with mental health struggles who are not violent.” - Angela Kimball
• "When they hear people falsely associate mental illness with a mass shooting, people tend to feel a kind of dread of this being associated with a condition that they may be living with every day of their lives." - Angela Kimball

Resources reminder

If you are suffering and need support, call your doctor or use the Get Help resources from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. If you are considering suicide, please call 1-800-273-8255. Additionally, the crisis text line in MN is available by texting MN to 741741.