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Stigma
Jan 6, 2016 10:20:40 GMT -8
Post by Susan Peabody on Jan 6, 2016 10:20:40 GMT -8
It has always been sad and frustrating to me that there is a stigma for having mental illness. I guess it stems from the fact that rare forms of mental illness require institutionalization. If I were in a wheel chair people would feel sorry for me. As it is people think I am a hypochondriac even if I have a professional diagnosis. They think I could cure myself if I really try. They project all kinds of misinformation on to my suffering. But I focus not on my mental illness but on the progress I have made in compensating for it. There is no cure, but their is remission. Thanks to meds, CBT, and God I live a good life. It helps to know that the entity I love with all my heart [God] made me this way for a reason. I needed to be mentally ill to be a wounded healer and I enjoy this. I read once about a woman who owned an ant farm and used to wish she could be an ant for a little while to talk and play with the other ants. Is that why God became manifest in Christ and lived among us for awhile? Is that why peer support is what heals addiction? Studies show that other forms of care are not enough. Hold your head up high. Be proud. You are a child of God and are perfectly imperfectly.
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Deleted
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Stigma
Jan 6, 2016 10:44:46 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 10:44:46 GMT -8
I used to be terribly ashamed, I felt I was weak, my nanny has suffered from depression and anxiety all her life so my mum really had a fear of it and when I started showing signs of anxiety and depression my mum was horrified. My youngest suffers from depression too but her dad always labelled me as *crazy* so she is too fearful to seek help in case she too is considered crazy by her dad. She won't seek help as she is afraid too but one day she will see there is nothing to be ashamed off.
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Stigma
Jan 7, 2016 3:19:06 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2016 3:19:06 GMT -8
I can remember when I was 17 and I didn't leave the house for nearly a year and holed up in bed most of the time my mum and nanny insisting I couldn't be having a nervous break down because what I was going through differed to nanny's. So even some people who have experienced how debilitating depression is can dismiss you and insist your just being attention seeking, like it some kind of competition!
I can see nanny saw it as me jumping on her bandwagon, like she had to be the only one who had suffered the most in life and my mum couldn't handle being aware how bad life was for us and how out of control she was. I badly needed help and as everyone was insisting I didn't have a problem I didn't go to the doctor plus was afraid of being like my nanny as my mum had a phobia about mental health problems (how ironic is that!!) She used alcohol, men and drugs to hide from her own depression and feelings of powerlessness.
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Stigma
Jan 7, 2016 19:02:39 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by leahb on Jan 7, 2016 19:02:39 GMT -8
Thanks for sharing ladies. The stigma doesn't bother me as much as the potential to have my life effected forever. I don't want that. Plus-I see how my father struggled and suffered for years with mental health issues. Still the stigma is real and awful. I hear you on this one ladies and applaud you for your bravery on this forum
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