Lifelines Essential #1 - We all have mental health and responders are not invincible

Although our mental health can vary in the same way as our physical health, we respond to it quite differently. For example, if we're physically unwell we're more likely to receive a Get Well card and less likely to blame ourselves for becoming ill.

There are two sides to stigma - social stigma, which is when others judge and treat us differently, and self-stigma, which is when we feel and think badly about ourselves.

Examples of social stigma are when jokes are made about people who are mentally unwell or when people are overlooked after disclosing a psychological injury. 

Examples of self-stigma are when we feel ashamed, weak, a failure or undeserving of help. Both are a huge problem because they make accessing support and recovery harder.

Watch Murdo, Steve, Laura and Dan talk about how they've dealt with stigma.

See Me is Scotland's national programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination. They have excellent resources on their website.