I crawled back into bed and pulled the sheet over my head.  But even that didn't shut out the light, so I buried my head under the darkness of the pillow and pretended it was night.  I couldn't see the point of getting up.  I had nothing to look forward to.

While reading the Bell Jar it came to my attention that many of the problems that Esther has, are generated by the criticism from the people around her. With her depression came a new stigma against her. Her mental illness made other people judge her and treat her differently than they normally would, leading to even more symptoms and depression. Not only is this stigma in Plath's novel though, but in our real world today.

Especially after the recent shootings in Aurora and Newton a new spotlight has been shed on mental illness. The stigma against mental illness has only grown stronger as the media has started to emphasize even more, violent crimes committed by people with illnesses like depression or schizophrenia. Although 95% of violent crimes are committed by people without mental illnesses, someone with schizophrenia are four times more likely to become violent then someone healthy. Studies have shown though that proper treatment can significantly lower this risk though. Stigmas against mental illness can serve very much though as barriers against both treatment and diagnosis.

Public stigma is not the only factor that lower the self image of the mentally ill. Self stigma can perform just as much damage. This happens when you take the pressures and negative views of your illness and internalize them, causing damage to your optimism and self esteem. When someone ill is stigmatized by those around them, with notions of incompetence or danger, further damage can be inflicted. People who agree with the negative stereotypes develop negative feelings and emotional reactions; this then becomes prejudice  Then someone from the public may because of this choose to stay away or judge someone with a mental illness because of these fears or stereotypes.

To prevent further damage because of stigmas and stereotypes steps need to be taken to prevent them. These steps could include easier access to mental health care, education at an earlier age about mental illness to prevent misconceptions, and an improvement of the media's attitude towards mentally ill.