Re: The Social Stigma of Mental Illness

In Reply to: The Social Stigma of Mental Illness posted by SandyM on November 26, 2000 at 13:08:25:

Practically everyone I know knows that I suffer from depression and knows that I take medication, what kind of medication(s), why I start, stop or change medication(s), what treatment or therapy I choose to attend, etc. - that includes my former employers over the last 15 years, my partner, family, friends, acquaintances, councillors, etc. I am not ashamed in any way of having this condition (granted, depression is a major pain in the butt - but it is what it is - nothing more or less), and I take it upon myself to inform and sometimes, educate, all of the people in my life. Mind you, I am more than my depression - it is only a part of what makes me the person I am.

What I find really interesting is that when I tell people about myself, many of them have then been able to share with me that they have a family member that has a mental disorder. Sometimes I learn things from them, sometimes they learn things from me, and sometimes we just get to talk about it. I think the majority of people have been affected by someone in their lives with a mental disorder (usually not a good experience however).

Like most things in the world, ignorance breeds fear and/or suspicion, and the more we can inform the people around us what our condition(s) is/are about, the better off each of us will be.

Well, there's my sermon for the day - I tried not to be preachy - not sure if I was successful or not.

Be Well.