Stigma is when outcasts are left out because the insiders think they're too different. The outcasts could be men who struggle with mental health, and the insiders could be self-proclaimed goddesses of yoga and selfcare.

  1. People see the outcasts as a burden because they need more care than average, and they might not be able to give back. Then people can misguidedly paint those who need extra help as thieves, making it look okay to hurt them back.
  2. People believe they can empathize with the outcasts from a distance, which leads to them not caring at all. People will say "I hope you find the help you need" and walk away, but that doesn't help at all.
  3. Outcasts are seen as manipulative if they ask for extra care because of their disability. People claim it's "victimhood" and "guilt-tripping". That's just a way of laughing at real pain.
  4. People often call someone manipulative who challenges their worldview. This is a toxic defense mechanism to feel like a good person. It's toxic because then you can do anything you want and you're always good; the cries of pain from others are just manipulative.
  5. People often feel grateful that at least they don't have it as bad as the outcasts. This can lead to feeling superior and putting outcasts down to feel virtuous.
  6. It's reversed so caring is seen as toxic masculinity, while uncaring is seen as empowering. If you're kind, they say you're "perpetuating the harmful idea that you have to be the savior, holding society back in guilt and pity," and that if you're mean and indifferent to the outcasts, they say you're "empowering people to set boundaries and stay true to themselves."
  7. Throughout history, when people stigmatized the outcasts, they said they were actually doing something good and noble by protecting the innocent and keeping the problems contained.
  8. Throughout history, professionals were often complicit in whatever the cultural norm was, even if it meant stigmatizing the outcasts. Professionals were (and in many ways, still are) more based on cultural norms than unconditional compassion and fairness.
  9. Every generation always thinks it's the one. We see the stigma in therapists from past generations, but we see today's therapists as good. What we don't see is that therapists today still do the things in this list.

Whenever we see stigma, we confront it. Our battle cry is: Stigma Can Ligma!