Alexandra Detweiler
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Illinois Tech’s chapter of Psi Chi
(the international psychology honor society)
recently hosted “Coming Out Proud to Erase
Stigma Toward Mental Illness," an event on
Monday, October 24 in which Dr: Patrick
Corrigan, a professor of psychology at Illinois
Tech, discussed how the stigma against mental
illness" both from the public and from the
self" can be addressed: During the event, Dr:
Corrigan introduced a program he developed,
called “Honest Open Proud" (HOP), as well
as an adaptation created by undergraduate
student Maya AleKhouja, which aims to erase
that stigma:
Stigma is a huge problem of ignorance and
misunderstanding, Dr: Corrigan discussed: For
example, when Trenton Psychiatric Hospital
caught fire in 2002, a New Jersey newspaper
bore the headline “Roasted Nuts" However,
while it might seem reasonable to assume that
general stigma has reduced in recent years, Dr:

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Student newspaper of Illinois Institute of Technology since 1928

Psi Chi hosts “Coming Out Proud to Erase Stigma Toward Mental IllnessII

Corrigan showed the audience a study that he
had conducted, in which more people thought
mentally ill people were dangerous in 2006
than in 1956: stigma has actually risen, , which
many were baffled to hear:

How, then, can stigma be addressed
and reduced? One thing that helps, Dr:
Corrigan explained, is encouraging mentally ill
people who are comfortable doing so to come
out to the public: Coming out is powerful: it
sets an example for the general public that not
everyone with a mental illness is “crazy" Dr:
Corrigan himself announced the audience
that he was part of the mentally ill community
Additionally, Dr Corrigan gave examples
of celebrities that had come out as mentally
ill" both from his age, such as Rod Steiger,
Patty Duke, and Mike Wallace, and celebrities
from more recent years, such as Demi Lovato,
Jim Carrey, and Leonardo DiCaprio: While
hearing as many stories as possible increases
one's understanding of this particular group of
people, Dr Corrigan explained how a concept
called the Thurgood Marshal effect inhibits

PEN, PROUD
ental illness

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people's understanding Thurgood Marshall
was the first African American supreme court
justice, appointed by Lyndon B: Johnson in
the 1960s: While this should have reduced the
prejudice against African American people,
many simply thought that Thurgood Marshall
was an ‘exception,’ or that Thurgood Marshall
was an outlier in the black community This
same concept can be applied when considering
the stigma against mentally ill people: When
the public hears of a celebrity coming out as
mentally ill, some will simply think that the
person is unlike other mentally ill people: Yes,
that person is not crazy, some might say, but
that’s because they’ re so unlike other mentally
ill people:

Coming out is not for everyone, and
Dr: Corrigan discussed the pros and cons of
each decision: While coming out potentially
allows that person to have a supportive
community of family, friends, and other
mentally ill people, sometimes a person’s
family and friends may not react positively to
this news: When a mentally ill person does not

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choose to come out, they risk the people around
them finding out because of an episode: they
may lose the autonomy of coming out on their
own terms: However, those who are out may
constantly be answering questions about their
condition or be faced with those who doubt
their ability to complete tasks because they are
mentally ill: Because of this, there is no ‘right’
option when considering when to come out or
not: it is completely up to the individual and
what they are comfortable with:

Dr: Corrigan also discussed the
important concept of pride: he explained
how he thought that living and overcoming
struggles related to his mental illness was more
of an accomplishment than graduating from
college would ever be: His mental illness was
as much of a unique part of his identity as his
Irish bloodline:

Any questions about this program
can be directed to corrigan@iit:edu:

 

Photos by Dennis Tran

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Photos by Iamshid Tnkhirm/