Finally, people were stigmatized for not abiding by the rigid Puritan beliefs, thereby justifying the society’s dominant morals and values. Today, any rational person might look at this event, and speculate that the entire Puritan culture developed a mental illness based on their belief system. Maybe some of these people who bought into the Puritan belief system experienced a self-stigma. Due to the extreme stressors during their time, some probably developed a mental disorder that was undeniably misunderstood. Those must have been scary times indeed for people of Salem.
The Salem Witch Trials offer a good example of how social stigma and certain cultural beliefs can negatively affect any given community. Today, our culture and belief systems are greatly affected by the compounds of social media and the superficial perfectionism it portrays. In fact, there is a higher incidence of anxiety in both children and adults today, and certainly one explanation concerns the way in which people are comparing themselves to certain social media postings, causing a domino effect of self-stigma, insecurity, guilt, and shame.
Suicide rates have climbed and today suicide is considered a major public health issue in the United States. In 2016, the Center of Disease Control (CDC) released data showing that the suicide rate in the United States had hit a 30-year high. What could be the cause of this increase in suicide? It appears we are in a mental health crisis right now. Societal pressures may be different than they were back in the 1600’s, but people still react the same to stress and pressures.
Mental disorders continue to have public and self-stigmas attached to it, and people are afraid to talk about their problems and seek help. We think this is due to a general lack of understanding and acceptance of mental disorders that continues to be present in our society. Most of us freely use terms such as “crazy” or “weird” to label someone who does not seem to fit into societal norms. We cast them out from our communities, and often misunderstand the root cause of mental illness. In turn, we tend to stigmatize ourselves when we are labeled crazy or weird by thinking the worst and burdening ourselves with shame and guilt.
