I found that across all periods, stigmatized words were rarely used. One of the biggest things I looked out for was the term “commit suicide”, which is highly stigmatized, in comparison, to “die by suicide”, which is more acceptable. I found that the term “commit suicide” was only used in one blog post and was solely used to explain the stigma that it carries. Looking into the language used I noticed that terms that carry more stigma such as “unstable”, “crazy”, and “easy way out” were not used at all. This indicates that bloggers on The Mighty tend to understand the stigma that suicide carries and do not participate in continuing the stigma.
Please Listen to Me Before You Call the Cops About My Suicidal Thoughts, Bobbie Byrd, The Mighty
I Am Not a Liability Because I’m Suicidal, Bobbie Byrd, The Mighty
The lack of use of stigmatized words does not indicate that stigma around suicide does not exist. Bloggers across all periods express feeling the stigma that mental health and suicide carry. This is displayed in the excerpts above. One blogger presented the stigma that “people open up about mental health for attention”. Several bloggers shared that stigma keeps people from talking openly about suicidal ideations. Various groups of people felt stigma such as toxic masculinity and stigma against indigenous people. This is displayed in the two examples below.
New Research Provides Evidence Toxic Masculinity Leads to a Higher Risk of Suicide, Renee Fabian, The Mighty
Why I Won’t Be Silent About the Suicide of Indigenous Men Like My Father, Jeanna Ford, The Mighty