Fighting Stigma and Shame!!

Last week I was bamboozled by a family member that was spreading incorrect and inaccurate information about my mental health journey.  This saddened me but it let me know that myths and stereotypes are constantly being perpetuated by lots of people; sometimes including family and the people closest to those of us that live with mental illness.  I must admit, I was utterly confused on how they were presenting details about me, my mental health journey, the disorder(s) I've been diagnosed with and how I live with them every day.  How can you speak of something that you clearly have no knowledge of? Their ignorance caused me major pain and suffering. An old friend of mine described my mental health journey as a "LifeTime Movie"...this came from an activist that daily fights the stigma & shame surrounding her health issues.  Apparently, she was unaware that her depiction was completely judgmental, stereotypical, critical and completely lacked the compassion that she too fights for regarding her OWN illness.  I understand though, that people fear what they don't understand.  I've decided not to suffer in silence, and to make sure those that actually love and care for me are well informed and educated about not just MY disorder, but mental illness as a whole.

Often times, we actually believe what is portrayed in movies and on television as reality.  Fact of the matter is, movies and television are entertainment, not education (unless of course you're watching Animal Planet,The History Channel, Discovery, etc.)  There are hundreds of movies and sit-coms that negatively and inaccurately depict mental illness and this fuels the stigma and shame associated with it.  Additionally, the news media tends to focus on the mental illness aspect when anything violent or tragic happens.  In 2012 alone, the media dug into the mental health history of Congresswoman Gifford's shooter (Jared Lee Loughner), the Colorado movie theater shooter (James Holmes), and the Sikh Temple shooter (Wade Michael Page.)  Fortunately, these acts of violence are not typical of ALL people that suffer from mental illness yet the media portrayal as something dark and dangerous further adds to the stigma and shame.

How you represent yourself and your disorder has a huge effect on fighting stigma. I personally have BPD, but I choose not to allow BPD to control my life. I live...in spite of my diagnosis, and as the title of my blog states, I'm MORE than my diagnosis. 
We all have the power to fight stigma.  I personally believe that fight starts with education...and identifying the myths and misinformation about mental illness will help to dispel such nonsense.


MY Biggest Mental Health Myths/Stigmas:

• Mental Illness is rare/uncommon:  One in five Americans will be diagnosed with a mental disorder in their lifetime.  This makes mental illnesses more common than cancer, diabetes or HIV/AIDS.
• People with mental illnesses are "CRAZY":  Crazy is a meaningless term.  People with mental illnesses are sick, not crazy.
• People with mental illness are more likely to commit violent crimes:  Mentally ill people are more likely to be the victims of crime than the perpetrators of it.  Most crime are committed out of passion or greed.  Both are very sane things, but not morally correct.  Immoral and insane are very different.  Via @StigmaSmash 
• Mental Illness is usually a choice of bad lifestyle choices:  Mental illness is NOT a result of character flaws or weakness.  Mental Illnesses are health conditions (sometimes brain) that are products of social, psychological, genetic and biological factors.  
• People with mental illness are dangerous/ violent:  People with mental health conditions are no more violent than anyone else!  Those suffering from mental illness are often more frightened, confused and despairing than violent.  Unless drugs or alcohol are involved, people with mental disorders do not pose more of a threat to the community than anyone else.
• People with mental illness never recover:  People with mental illnesses CAN and DO recover.  With treatment, medicine, therapy, support or a combination of all---people with mental illnesses can lead fulfilling and productive lives and contribute positively to society.

Everyone is affected by mental illness.  If your friend, family member or loved one lives with mental illness there are a few things you can do....to ease the shame associated with the illness.  Treat people with mental illnesses as people and not as an illness!  Treat them with respect and dignity as you would anyone else.  Don't label people with terms as "crazy" "wacko" or "CooCoo".  Lastly, learn the facts about mental health and share them with others!

"Mental Illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all." -Bill Clinton