Introduction

In the health sector, mental illness is one of the most discussed and researched topics, owing to its increased significance, especially in contemporary society. Today, a lot of information exists about mental conditions such as schizophrenia, addiction, anxiety, and depression. Current literature also reveals how such conditions impact victims in terms of their physical, psychological, financial, and social aspects. Mental illness poses numerous challenges to patients, such as stigmatization. As such, there are many instances of mentally ill people who are perceived negatively due to their underlying condition, which makes it even worse in the absence of adequate social support. Social stigma and discriminating against people with mental illness makes recovery more difficult and may lead to other problems such as increased depression and suicide. Due to the considerable social concerns that are related to this stigma, additional research is necessary. In this case, we discuss how stigmatization impacts mentally ill persons. 

Historical perspective of mental illness

Across history, theories have existed about the concept of mental illness. Most of these models fall under the category of somatogenic, supernatural and psychogenic etiologies, as explained by Farreras (2019) . When we consider supernatural theories, there is evidence suggesting that mental disorders were attributed to the possession by demons and evil spirits. In other societies, mentally ill individuals were perceived to have displeased the gods. Other concepts that were associated with the paranormal aspect of mental illness include the influence of planetary gravitation, sin, and curses (Farreras, 2019). On the other hand, somatogenic theories of ancient views on mental illness linked the conditions to physical disturbances that affected the normal functioning of a patient. These disturbances were attributed to diseases, genetics, bodily imbalances, and brain damage. From a historical perspective, the models were used to provide rationale to conditions associated with mental illness