The experience of stigmatizing events related to mental health can trigger chronic stress responses in individuals with mental health conditions. Although the psychological and social effects of stigma are well-documented, the direct physiological impact of mental health stigma, particularly its effect on cortisol secretion in response to acute stressors, has remained underexplored. This study aims to clarify how exposure to mental health stigma affects cortisol levels, thereby enriching our understanding of the full spectrum of stigma's impact on health and well-being. We hypothesized that exposure to mental health stigma would alter cortisol responses, potentially leading to either heightened or suppressed cortisol levels, indicative of a dysregulated stress response, especially among those with prior mental health diagnoses. However, our findings did not reveal statistically significant differences in cortisol reactivity, although trends suggest that stigmatizing conditions might decrease cortisol responses relative to supportive conditions. In this study, we measured cortisol levels before and after participants were exposed to controlled supportive or stigmatizing social interactions to examine these effects. These preliminary results underscore the complexity of the physiological pathways involved and highlight the need for further research to definitively map the relationship between mental health stigma and stress physiology.
