Internalized stigma refers to the stigma one carries regarding their own mental illness, which is often influenced by sociocultural beliefs and misconceptions regarding specific diagnoses. Internalized stigma is of particular interest to mental health practitioners, as strong self-stigma is associated with greater psychiatric impairment and decreased quality of life. Quenneville et al. (2020) used a self-report scale to compare the severity of internalized stigma in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder (BD). These three diagnoses were chosen as each are highly stigmatized disorders, thus increasing the likelihood that individuals with these disorders experience internalized stigma. It was determined that individuals with BPD demonstrated the greatest level of overall internalized stigma, which is likely due to the long-standing history of discrimination against individuals with BPD. There was no significant different in overall self-stigma levels between individuals with ADHD and BD. Future research should be conducted to find empirically supported psychotherapies that reduce internalized stigma, since decreasing self-stigma is crucial to improve functional and psychiatric outcomes, as well increase quality of life for patients suffering from highly stigmatized mental illnesses (Quenneville et al., 2020).
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