The Invisible Burden

As J.W. Klapman states in Is Insanity Shameful? (1950), "All diseases are misfortunes, but nothing to be ashamed of. The only real reason you have been ashamed of the idea of mental dis-eases (or 'insanity') is because of the great weight of public mass misinformation and superstition" (11).

Mental health treatment has advanced beyond trepanning and isolation in asylums to pharmaceuticals and talk therapy phone applications with chatbots. The stigma of mental illness places an additional burden on the patient who is already dealing with their ailment. They may see their illness as a sign of weakness or try to pretend that everything is "okay" instead of seeking treatment that could cause them to be looked down upon or discriminated against.

Curated by Jaina Shaw and Nicole Topich. Please contact the Oskar Diethelm Library with any questions or for more information at nrt4001@med.cornell.edu or (212) 746-3728.