Key points
- Stigma is a negative social attitude or stereotype attached to a group, condition or experience.
- Stigma is therefore a social process, not a private feeling alone: it involves the person or group being labelled, the people doing the labelling, and the wider culture that repeats the label.
- Research summarised by the Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health, reported by WHO, finds that social contact is the strongest way to reduce stigma: meeting and hearing from people with lived experience.
Direct answer: Stigma is a negative social attitude or stereotype attached to a group, condition or experience. In public health awareness, it matters because it shapes language, social inclusion, and how openly a topic is discussed across a population. This article covers meaning, attitudes and campaigns only — no symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, or help-seeking advice for any individual.
What is stigma, in plain words
The word stigma comes from a mark or label. In social research, it describes what happens when a group or condition is labelled in a negative way, and that label sticks. People in the labelled group may then face exclusion, unfair treatment, or pressure to hide the topic. Stigma is therefore a social process, not a private feeling alone: it involves the person or group being labelled, the people doing the labelling, and the wider culture that repeats the label.
Three types of stigma
Public stigma
What other people think and do: negative attitudes, stereotypes and avoidance in everyday life.
Self-stigma
What a person comes to believe about themselves after absorbing the negative label — shame, and a sense that the topic must be hidden.
Structural stigma
Rules, policies and systems that exclude a group, even without open hostility — for example, routines and practices that disadvantage people in services, workplaces or public life.
How does stigma affect health?
Stigma acts as a barrier at population level. It delays information-seeking: people avoid reading or asking about a stigmatised topic. It delays using services: people put off contact with services they associate with the label. It silences conversation: topics are not discussed openly, so misunderstandings persist. And it worsens inequality: groups already disadvantaged face an extra barrier. These are population-level effects, studied across groups — not statements about any individual.
What reduces stigma?
Research summarised by the Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health, reported by WHO, finds that social contact is the strongest way to reduce stigma: meeting and hearing from people with lived experience. Open conversation helps — campaigns built on “it’s time to talk” — and so does respectful language that describes people first and conditions second. The Time to Change campaign in England (2007–2021) worked on exactly these lines before it closed in March 2021; no current worldwide successor campaign exists, which is the gap this site’s awareness hub addresses in tone.
Stigma in public health
Public health talks about stigma because it is a barrier to awareness campaigns working. A campaign can share accurate information, but if stigma keeps the topic hidden, the information does not travel. That is why awareness work looks at language, media portrayals and institutional practices — not only at individual attitudes. The companion guide on tackling stigma and asking for help extends this guide into mental health and visible skin conditions, and the support routes it points to sit in the Wellbeing Support Directory.
Frequently asked questions
Is stigma the same as discrimination?
No. Stigma is the negative attitude or stereotype. Discrimination is the unfair treatment that can follow from it. The two are related but not the same thing.
Is stigma only about mental health?
No. Stigma is discussed across many public health topics, including mental health, infectious disease and disability — always at social and population level in this article.
Does this article discuss symptoms or treatment?
No. It covers meaning, attitudes and campaigns only.