health from developing or worsening, and prevent suicide (79). The WHO’s Diagnostic and Management Guidelines for Mental Disorders in Primary Care, ICD-10 Chapter V, stress that the approach to poor mental health should be fundamentally the same as that to physical ill health (80). However, Mind’s report states that many young people reported feelings of judgement by mental health specialists. When young people feel alienated from professional support or their communities they will turn to their peers for support, especially girls and young women. Although schools can offer support, they can also be challenging environments for young people living with poor mental health. It has been reported that teachers and peers can trivialise, misunderstand, punish, or discriminate against those with poor mental health (78). The effects of stigma and discrimination Stigma can have several detrimental effects. It may lead young people to hide the challenges they face from others. They may be reluctant to speak to family and friends, or seek treatment and support for poor mental health, because of their concerns about what others will think of them. Young people especially may feel a perceived need to be self-sufficient and autonomous (81). Stigma can lead to the exclusion of young people with poor mental health from social activities, social circles, or relationships. In many cases, young people have reported to have been disciplined as a consequence of their poor mental health. In the most severe cases they may even be physically restrained or placed in isolation. Some students have also been found to have been suspended or excluded as a result of poor mental health (82). Stigma and discrimination can also lead to others ruling out the possibility that a young person with long-term poor mental health may be able to be in education, partake in extra-curriculum activities, or contribute to their family or friendships in a
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