The Harmful Effects of Stigma

Stigma can delay treatment, worsen shame, increase risk, and make systems less likely to disclose symptoms or seek help. ^{1 2 3}

Main ideas

• People may avoid clinicians if they expect disbelief or ridicule.
• Shame can increase secrecy, internal conflict, and crisis risk.
• Stigma can also affect families, partners, workplaces, and medical care.

Questions for reflection

• What help is being avoided because of shame?
• Where has stigma made symptoms harder to name?
• What trusted person or service could receive a more accurate explanation?

Clinical note

Stigma does not make DID rarer. It makes support harder to reach.

Footnotes

1. Brand, B. L., Sar, V., Stavropoulos, P., Kruger, C., Korzekwa, M., Martinez-Taboas, A., & Middleton, W. (2016). Separating fact from fiction: An empirical examination of six myths about dissociative identity disorder. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 24(4), 257-270. Abstract and overview of six myths. Text-fragment link to the article's summary claim. ↩

2. Palm, M. (2024). Dissociative identity disorder. In Understanding psychological disorders. Baylor University Libraries. Open textbook chapter. Accessible overview chapter. ↩

3. Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Dissociative disorders. In Psychology 2e. OpenStax. Section 15.9, paragraph on dissociative disorders. Text-fragment link to the section definition. ↩