Students create 'stigma free zone'

Students in the IU Sociology club and the School of Public Health have been working to eliminate mental illness stigma.

Volunteers handed out about 400 tank tops on campus Sunday and Monday. They also posted hundreds of yellow flyers in the shape of yield signs that read “IU is a Stigma-Free Zone.”

The effort coincides with a visit by actress and advocate Glenn Close, who will visit classrooms and deliver a lecture at 3 p.m. today at the Whittenberger Auditorium.

Close co-founded the Bring Change 2 Mind campaign, which works to eliminate misconceptions regarding mental illness.

Bernice Pescosolido, a Distinguished Professor of Sociology, said it is important to have this conversation about stigma in order to change the negative perception of people who suffer from mental illness.

The flyers and tanks were distributed to raise awareness of the negative stigma that is associated with mental illness and to facilitate a conversation that could bring about change, Pescosolido said.

“If we talk about it, we see people as humans first, and we understand them in terms of the things they can contribute,” she said.

Senior Deborah Backman serves as president of the IU Sociology club and said she hopes that people learn the facts about mental illness and provide a welcoming and understanding environment for people with mental illnesses to discuss their issues.

“I hope people will be more sensitive toward the whole issue and people who have mental illness,” Backman said. “Just create an environment where people who have mental illnesses are more comfortable seeking treatment and are more comfortable talking to people about it.”

She said students sometimes gain a negative perspective from the media regarding mental illness and hopes to change that misconception.

“The things they see in the media about mental illness can really affect that and can prevent people from seeking help,” she said.

Senior Jack Whittle has also been working as part of the campaign through the Sociology club and said he hopes students will be more considerate of the language they use to describe mental illness.

“Language has power over how we think; abstaining from using words like psycho to describe a person with a mental illness is a good start,” he said. “Telling others that they should do the same is great.”

Follow reporter Holly Hays on Twitter @hv_hays.