Burden Caused by Stigma

Burden Caused by Stigma
The article “A letter to my parents about depression and mental illness” by Frank Shyong paints an accurate picture of how burdening stigma can be for a person suffering from depression and mental illness. This picture has been painted through a collection of real-life experiences with the problem. Additionally, the account also mirrors what experts in the field have established and what other individuals have shared regarding their own experiences. The focus of this paper is to examine how Shyong reveals the stigma associated with mental illnesses by considering evidence from other pieces of writing.
The first step toward revealing the stigma was to accept the mental health issues themselves before proceeding to express how stigma worsens the situation. Shyong reveals that he had been living with depression for most of his adult life since the signs started to emerge while he was in college. The experiences were so dire after graduation that Shyong developed suicidal thoughts and tried to harm himself. At this stage, he was already seeing a therapist, but that was the extent of his efforts to share his problem. Therefore, the author reveals how stigma causes individuals to become unwilling to share with others their mental illness. In literature, the stigma is caused by the shame individuals feel by either sharing their problems or seeking treatment (Spagnolo et al. 191). Shyong admits to having lobbied other people to overcome their shame and share stories of depression. However, he was also suffering from the same fear of stigmatization, which explains why he had never told his parents about his own situation. In this case, the author has accurately revealed that stigma causes people to fear or feel shame in sharing their stories.
Shyong goes ahead to reveal that stigma is harmful silence and the reason why people suffer alone. In this case, the fact that Shyong is reluctant to share his mental health problems with anyone means having to suffer alone. His circle of friends had reduced due to all the relationships that were lost and the inability to form new ones. Indeed, it can be argued that having to suffer alone causes an individual to become self-isolated from society and not want to meet people. For Shyong, every social gathering, either with family or friends, was characterized by pretense as he tried to hide his struggles. Stigma will push a mental health patient to live a double life, one of private suffering and one meant to convince the public that the individual is all right. the strain on such a double life can be draining as manifested by Shyong’s suicidal thoughts and an incident of self-harm. This way, Shyong manages to paint a picture of the fact that stigma can be worse than the problem of mental health itself.
Stigma is often faced by marginalized individuals who often feel out of place in the broader society. Shyong managed to reveal that the stigma he experienced was indeed a cultural stigma. As an Asian in the United States, he can be considered a racial minority, which represents one form of marginalization. Despite too few Asians seeking mental health, the incidences of suicide within this community reveal how much a burden cultural stigma can be for an individu...