‘Pull yourself together’: stigma of mental illness in Ireland.

Would we accept someone with a mental illness as a close friend? One-third of the 187 people surveyed in 2009 for St Patrick’s University Hospital answered ‘no’. Close to 52% of these people claimed that a family member had been treated for a mental illness, yet 40% of them still felt that undergoing treatment for mental health is a sign of failure. These statistics, although based on a relatively small sample size, highlight the stark reality echoed across surveys. The biggest barrier in the realisation of mental health is ‘stigma’ and the associated discrimination. It is tragic that the distress of mental illness is only partially related to the medical problem. Instead, the most debilitating aspect of mental illness is the reaction and attitudes of others, and often of ourselves.