Mental Illness

     Today there are millions of people living with one form of mental illness or another. Many of which are either misdiagnosed or under-diagnosed. There are still yet another group of people living with a mental illness and not even knowing it, living life thinking they are weird, or that is just the way life is supposed to be, afraid to seek treatment due to not wanting to be labeled as "mentally ill" or "crazy". In today's society its almost considered a crime to be ill. Even in the medical community the main theories are drug them, shut them up, and lock them away.

     As a consumer in mental health, I know how rude, crude and down right mean society can be. Most of which I have come to learn is nothing more than a mere fear of the unknown. The general public is not educated on mental illnesses so they have nothing to base an opinion on but stereotypes, which are grossly exaggerated and untrue. It has been an unspoken rule for generation after generation to keep those "different" people away from the general public. So as not to affect them, or bring shame apon the rest of the ill persons family. The guilt that many people have had to live with is unimaginable to most. One would think that with the growth of so called society today that people, no matter what their illness wouldnt be descriminated against. However, this is not the case. Even in the medical field, If you go see a doctor for something nonrelatled to the mentall illness, they will talk to you fine, untill they open your file and see that theres mentall illness, then instantly your treated like an unintelligent person without the capablity of reason. The stigma of mental illness is atrocious. People who have a mental illness dx should not be treated any differently than someone with a physical disability.

There are many 'levels' of mental illness, with a large portion of them being considered high functioning. Yes, there are some mentally ill that can not function on their own, but by no means are they the majority. Many mentally ill go on in life to become highly successfull individuals in society. Only recently have some, like Kay Jamison, John Nash, Andy Behrman, Judie Chamberlain and others, allowed their mental illness into the public's eye. They are all sucessful people who have a mental illness, they prove that a person does not become their illness.

Even the way mental illness is known in society is degrading, people will say "I am bipolar" which makes it sound like that is all they are, instead they should say " i have bipolar disorder". But that is just my opinion on it. If I wanted to I could describe myself with a bunch of labels of mental illness, but that is not who I am. I am a person, just like you, that happens to suffer from an illness.

 

 

STOP STIGMA!