What is Internalized Stigma?
Life’s challenges can be overwhelming; everyone deserves a space to feel heard and supported. At Roamers Therapy, we provide trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and evidence-based environments to help you heal, grow, and navigate your mental well-being journey. As your psychotherapist, we are here to guide you every step of the way.
Stigma refers to the disgust, disgrace, or disapproval of a quality or group of people. Stigma is often formed by our biases.
Biases are unconscious beliefs or attitudes about people or things. They are shaped by society, culture, upbringing, experiences, and relationships.
Stigma can include harmful beliefs about people based on gender, race, sexuality, religion, nationality, appearance, age, abilities, and many other identities.
What Is Internalized Stigma?
Internalized stigma refers to negative beliefs or biases towards our identities.
Examples of internalized stigma include:
- Feelings of shame around specific identities
- Beliefs about superiority for presenting or behaving like others from your cultural group
- Feelings of inadequacy due to illness or disability
- Favoring people, media, or ideals of the dominant culture.
Why Do We Experience Internalized Stigma?
There are many reasons we might hold beliefs that are internally stigmatizing, and for some, there can be more than one factor. Here are some examples:
- Having negative views about specific identities instilled in you
- Wanting to assimilate into the dominant culture
- Being taught that your identity is wrong, dangerous, or inadequate
- Seeking acceptance from members of the dominant culture or members of our immediate community
- Feeling fear about embracing your stigmatized identity
How Does Internalized Stigma Affect Us?
Holding internalized stigma towards our identities can be harmful to ourselves and our loved ones.
When we hold negative attitudes towards ourselves, we can alienate ourselves from the people and communities we love the most.
Additionally, we can become depressed due to hiding, resenting, or feeling shame about some of the most important parts of ourselves.
We may also feel lonely due to feeling living inauthentically.
Find the Best Therapist in Chicago to Challenge Internalized Stigma
Internalized stigma or shame can be difficult to live with. Fortunately, these beliefs are malleable, meaning they can change (even if they have been around for a long time!).
Challenging these beliefs is the process of 1) unlearning much of the harmful information instilled in you and 2) learning to love the things about yourself that make you who you are.
Reflection Exercise
If you are working to unlearn some of your biases, this reflection exercise:
- What are some biases you are aware of?
- Are there any blind spots (or deeper biases that might not be so front of mind)?
- Where did these biases come from?
- How do these thoughts benefit you?
- How do they not benefit you?
- What do you need to let go of?
- What do you need to learn?
- How different would your life be if you did not have these beliefs?
Additional Exercises
In addition to reflecting on your biases and internalized stigma, you can challenge these beliefs in many other ways. Some examples include:
- Creating a safe space to discuss your beliefs (like therapy)
- Immersing yourself in the culture or community, you hold these beliefs about
- Consuming diverse forms of media for these cultures, identities, or communities
- Becoming an ally or advocate for these cultures, identities, or communities.
Takeaways
We all have biases (even about our own communities, culture, or identities). Having biases is not a bigger problem. It’s how we handle our biases that matter.
When we do not challenge our internalized stigma, we can experience depression, shame, poor relationships, and loneliness.
When we are able to challenge our stigma, we can live authentically and learn to love the parts of ourselves we were taught to hide.
At Roamers Therapy, our psychotherapists are here to support you through anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship issues, race-ethnicity issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, ADHD, Autism, or any challenges you encounter. Our psychotherapists are trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Acceptance, and Commitment Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, and Gottman Therapy.
Whether you’re seeking guidance on a specific issue or need help navigating difficult emotions, we’re ready to assist you every step of the way.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and schedule a session with our mental health professionals to begin your healing journey. To get started with therapy, visit our booking page.
First, decide if you’ll be paying out-of-pocket or using insurance. If you’re a self-pay client, you can book directly through the “Book Now” page or fill out the “Self-Pay/Out-of-network Inquiry Form.” If you’re using insurance, fill out the “Insurance Verification Form” to receive details about your costs and availability. Please let us know your preferred therapist. If your preferred therapist isn’t available, you can join the waitlist by emailing us. Once your appointment is confirmed, you’ll receive intake documents to complete before your first session.
This page is also part of the Roamers Therapy Glossary; a collection of mental-health related definitions that are written by our therapists.
While our offices are currently located at the South Loop neighborhood of Downtown Chicago, Illinois, we also welcome and serve clients for online therapy from anywhere in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Clients from the Chicagoland area may choose in-office or online therapy and usually commute from surrounding areas such as River North, West Loop, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village, Bronzeville, South Shore, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, Wicker Park, Bucktown and many more. You can visit our contact page to access detailed information on our office location.