"And so it makes that many people might feel uncomfortable sharing their experiences of psychosis, particularly with their employers. It’s not an unfounded concern: One 2006 study found that half of U.S. employers are “reluctant” to hire people with past psychiatric history, a figure that rises to 70 percent for those taking anti-psychotic medication. But it’s kind of lose-lose; not telling an employer about an episode of psychosis would lead a quarter of the surveyed employers to dismiss an employee.
The consequences of this stigmatization stretch beyond employment. A 2014 literature review published in the journal Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services found that public stigmatization is a “pervasive barrier that prevents many individuals in the U.S. from engaging in mental health care.” In 2004, psychiatrist Patrick Corrigan, of the University of Chicago, argued that, in order to avoid being labelled “mentally ill,” people actively decide not to seek or participate in care. This, he says, diminishes patients’ self-esteem and prevents them from engaging in “social opportunities” such as friendships or relationships. In the U.S., three years typically pass between the time the first symptoms of psychosis manifest and their eventual diagnosis and treatment."
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