Destigmatizing Mental Illness Using Social Marketing

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/socialmarketing/training/basics/index.htm

Social Marketing is a great tool to use to change health behavior, especially in the field of mental health. Mental health issues are stigmatized and people don't want to talk about them. There is a lot of shame attached to most mental illnesses. Those who suffer with them are afraid to seek help or talk to their friends and family because of this shame, and friends and family members know very little about mental health issues because it is never talked about. You might see an advertisement for an anti-depressant like Zoloft on television, or hear about a study you might be eligible to participate in while listening to the radio, but you won't hear about too many fundraising walks dedicated to raising money for mental health issues. Nonprofits dedicated to raising awareness about mental health get far less attention than those that feed the homeless, or raise money for cancer research, when often times mental illness is one of the reasons behind homelessness, and many people fighting cancer also struggle with mental health due to their illness.

Social Marketing can get people talking about mental health. If we can make it so that people aren't so afraid to talk about it, then perhaps it can become less stigmatized. Perhaps less people will struggle through this alone. Those with cancer, or diabetes, or even those attempting to lose weight, these people aren't expected to face these struggles alone. Yet many with mental illness keep their illness a secret. They fight alone, with no support from the people who love them, and all too often, no support from professionals.

If more communities enacted Social Marketing campaigns urging people to ask for help, or encouraging friends to ask how their friends are doing, and really listen, perhaps we could see behavior change. We could see more people being open about their mental health.

Click the link above to be taken to the CDC's Social Marketing learning module, so that you can learn how to apply Social Marketing and perhaps use it in your community to destigmatize mental illness.