More than half of people struggling with their mental health have experienced discrimination, survey finds

'There is still much to be done to tackle stigma and inequality', mental health minister says

More than half of people who have struggled with their mental health have experienced stigma or discrimination because of it, new research shows.

See Me – a Scottish charity working to end mental health discrimination – conducted a poll of 2,005 people to find out more about the impact mental health problems have on the way a person is perceived or treated.

The survey showed that more than half (56 per cent) of respondents suffering from poor mental health said they had faced stigma and discrimination, with GP practices being highlighted as the most common place for it to occur.

The data also revealed that people are likely to experience such treatment from those closest to them, such as friends, family and work colleagues.

Nearly one in four (37 per cent) of those surveyed who had not experienced mental health problems themselves added that they have witnessed stigma and discrimination towards others.

Meanwhile, more than a quarter (27 per cent) said they would not want a person who has a mental health problem to take care of their child, and one in 10 (11 per cent) would not be willing to have a relationship with someone with a mental health issues.

Despite this, the research does suggests that there are signs of improvement, with almost 80 per cent of respondents saying they think public perceptions of mental health problems have improved over the past decade.

Furthermore, 85 per cent said they believe it is possible to have a mental health problem and live a meaningful life, while 55 per cent said they feel confident to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination.

TV presenter Gail Porter, who recently released a documentary about her mental health journey, is working with See Me to urge people to be confident in recognising stigma and discrimination.

“While I was enjoying a successful career on television, I was experiencing serious mental health illness, but at the time there was still a real stigma around the subject so I had to smile and carry on as normal. Hiding it like this just made things worse,” Porter said.

"In those days, the media often labelled people 'mad' or similar derogatory terms, there was a stigma and discrimination around mental health that could quickly destroy your career.

“These days, it's great that mental health is something that is talked about more openly and positively and the stigma has been reduced significantly, but I think there's a long way to go.”

Commenting on the findings, Clare Haughey, Scotland's mental health minister, said that the survey reveals there are still some negative feelings surrounding mental ill health.

“These findings are sobering and they reaffirm that despite strong progress in improving public perceptions of mental health problems, there is still much to be done to tackle associated stigma and inequality,” Haughey said.

Wendy Halliday, See Me interim director, added: “Our research shows that 55 per cent of people feel confident to challenge stigma and discrimination, but we need that number to be much higher, so no one is treated unfairly when they’re struggling.

“We need you to make a difference today. Knowing what to say and do isn’t easy, so we’ve released a brand new resource, the Journey of a Social Movement, where you can see how people like you have been challenging stigma and discrimination in their communities, with their friends and family, in their workplaces, at school and in health care.”