Stigma about Mental Health

Breaking the data down by age, older generations tend to rate themselves as less informed than younger ones. Sixty-three percent of 18 to 24-year-olds believe themselves to be at least slightly informed on mental illness, and just 48 percent of those 55 and older feel the same way. While there could be many explanations for this, one may be the shift in the way successive generations have viewed mental illness. In the 1950s, people tended to consider only very obvious conditions like psychosis as a mental illness; illnesses like depression weren’t distinguished from just ordinary unhappiness. But over time, as America made progress in the fields of pharmaceuticals and medical technology (e.g. brain scans, mobile and web platforms, etc.), the subtlety and distinction of mental illness was able to be more fully recognized. These advancements may have come with a greater knowledge and decreased stigma.