Stigma and Social Death
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An alcoholic had three bleak options in the early 1900s: institutionalization with other psychiatric patients, jail, or homelessness. Lobotomies were developed in 1936, and this was used as a last resort method to cure addiction. By 1960, 100,000 prefrontal lobotomies had been performed in the US.
In the US, a 1999 study looked at which mental illnesses were actually considered mental illnesses among the general public. They found that 88% of participants considered schizophrenia a mental illness, 68% for depression, and only 49% thought alcoholism was a mental illness.
Studies in the 1990s and early 2000s found that 85% of people thought alcoholics were responsible for their problem, and 3 out of 4 participants considered lack of willpower to be the cause. Another common perception was that bad character was to blame. Even in the US in 2006, 65% of participants cited bad character as the reason for alcoholism.
Listen to episode 15 to learn more about stigma:
Cite this article:
Tietz, G. Stigma and Social Death. Sober Powered. 2020
Sources:
NIAAA. Alcohol Facts and Statistics. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
American Addiction Centers. Alcoholism Statistics & Alcohol Abuse Demographics. 2020.
Schomerus, G. et al. The Stigma of Alcohol Dependence Compared with Other Mental Disorders: A Review of Population Studies, Alcohol and Alcoholism, Volume 46, Issue 2, March-April 2011, Pages 105–112
Harvard Health Publishing. The Evolving Understanding of Stigma. 2020.
Psychology Research and Reference. Stigma.
Foundations Recovery Network. History of Mental Health Treatment. DualDiagnosis.org
Stigmatization of Mental Illness. Historical Perspective of Mental Illness and Stigma.
Feldman, D. The Tragedy of Mental Illness Stigma. Psychology Today. 2018.
