A sociological inquiry into the experience of mental health stigma.
Citation
(2016) A sociological inquiry into the experience of mental health stigma., no. 86.
Abstract
This research gives an account of the lived experience of mental health stigma
affecting people who suffer from so-called common mental health conditions.
The stigma that accompanies mental health conditions can be a devastating
additional element that accompanies mental ill-health, and through first-person
accounts of how lives are affected by stigma, I attempt to gain a deeper
understanding of this reality. Using the method of phenomenological inquiry
and an interpretive approach to my analysis, I highlight the macro and micro
aspects of the social actor's life that is affected by stigma, drawing attention to
the reality of symbolic violence (Pierre Bourdieu) as social agents (individuals
and social institutions) exercise power against my informants via toxic systems
of classification which impact upon the 'lifeworld' and practice / behaviour.