The New Jersey Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma made the statement that stigma hurts everyone living with mental illness, along with their families, friends, colleagues and the communities in which they live. The statement was bold, because it comes to the heart of the damage stigma inflicts. “It is a primary barrier to the achievement of wellness, and recovery, as well as full social integration, and appears as distrust, fear, stereotyping and discrimination,” the Governor’s Council report states. “The prevalence of mental health stigma seriously undermines an ...