Can we now, finally, talk about the stigma of mental illness? Tonight Im heartbroken, with the world, at the passing of Robin Williams. But from my perspective, as we deal with the shock and sorrow of his suicide, Im noticing a disturbing trend that needs attention. Among the billions of comments, status updates, and tweets flying around the world tonight, there is a burgeoning call not to allow his death to become anymore of a tragic waste than it already is. To talk about mental illness. This is without a doubt, a good thing. We need to talk about it. We need to address it. But what I am noticing is that the focus is on encouraging those of us with mental illness to reach out for help, and not so much on the stigma we suffer. This needs to change. The posts I am seeing in my newsfeed are falling into two categories. One category says reach out, get help, here is the suicide prevention hotline. The other says, there is no shame in mental illness. Once again, the intentions are good. But sadly, it is not true that there is no shame in mental illness. The shame is, that there is still plenty of shame in mental illness. And although it is a good thing to remind those of us who struggle with suicidal ideation that we are not alone, that we should take action and reach out for help, it is not enough. I want to have a conversation about what drives us to the brink. I want to institute a call for action for everyone, not just those who are hurting, to understand: its not just about us feeling alone. Its about the employers, who when faced with the mental illness of an employee, take away privileges and responsibilities under the auspices of lets give this person a break, wait until theyre back on their feet, until theyre feeling better to offer any chances at forward or upward movement. Its about people who look at us funny. Its about mothers who protect their children from having to deal with the mentally ill instead of having an honest conversation about it. And ultimately, its about society saying its okay, theres no shame in mental illness on the one hand, while shaming us and even ostracizing us on the other. Ultimately, its about society saying, you take action. I dont need to. About the underlying feeling that if a person has mental illness, its their responsibility to stop feeling bad, instead of ours to find more and better ways of eradicating the stigmas we live under on a daily basis that add to our feelings of isolation and hopelessness. Its not just about finding a new drug, or making sure that we all know theres help available. Its about making a real difference in the way society sees us. Because we are not just feeling sorry for ourselves and we do not need to just snap out of it. On a small scale, its about reaching out to a friend that seems down and not just uttering platitudes, but accepting them and loving, really loving them, for who they are in the moment, in the struggle they are in. On a large scale, its about giving the mentally ill back their humanity by respecting them and supporting them while still giving them a chance. Because the truth is, every single one of us with mental illness is a human being deserving of that respect and full of potential for happiness--just like Robin.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 08:45:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015