Beyond the Label: Seeing the Person Behind the Mental Illness

When I started blogging in 2014, I was on a mission to help eliminate the mental illness stigma. At the time, I thought educating people about mental illness would help them to see how common it was and perhaps create a better understanding. I’ve since learned it is not statistics and information that eliminates stigma. It is learning and knowing someone who lives with mental illness that changes perceptions.

I thought for a while that stigma was not as much a problem as it once was. Then, most recently I learned from counselors and others stigma is still very much an issue when it comes to mental health. I guess since I’ve been emerged in self-disclosure and have been studying many people’s stories of mental illness for years, I thought there was much less stigma today. 

Then, I remembered when I had a couple of minor set-backs how people who were mental health advocates reacted to me. They said some things that were very hurtful and they treated me differently. So, I thought, “If people who claim to be mental health advocates are treating me differently, what might the average person think?”

There’s so much misunderstanding and blaming when it comes to experiencing symptoms of mental illness. With all the information readily available, people still want to point a finger at the person with mental illness for their symptoms. Would they blame someone who has cancer for their disease? I doubt it, unless they’re just a horrible human being.

I digress.

Anyhow, according to stigma expert and psychologist Dr. Patrick Corrigan, the only way to combat stigma effectively is for people who live with mental illness to come out of the closet in similar ways as people have done in the LGBTQ community. Because people were willing to take the risk and share who they were, it has successfully changed public perceptions and helped move the needle on discrimination and stereotypes.

It makes sense if we know someone who lives with mental illness we may not have such disdain for people who suffer. Then again, I’ve known many people and I’ve still been looked at in different ways. But I think it’s much harder to ignore the fact that I’ve been able to recover. When I’m standing in a room full of people or on in a meeting on a Zoom call sharing my story, I’ve successfully humanized being a person living with a serious mental illness.

I know intellectually it’s not my fault I have bipolar disorder and PTSD that’s in remission. I inherited bipolar disorder and PTSD was caused by other people. I could stay stuck in thinking “life isn’t fair,” or I can continue to share my story and experiences in hopes that it may help someone else. I choose to do the later.

There are so many people who live with mental illness who don’t have the opportunity to have a voice. They may choose not to want to self-disclose and that’s perfectly understandable. There are some who are not well enough to speak for themselves. 

I’m writing this blog post to a give a voice to the person who doesn’t have one. I’m writing to say I have a mental illness and I’m the neighbor next door. I’m writing to express the fact I’m not ashamed for having a mental illness. I’m writing to let those people know who have treated me differently they’re not going to shame me into the closet. 

I’m going to use all that negativity around stigma to fuel my advocacy and activist efforts. I’m going to speak up loudly and passionately, so anyone who meets me knows I have a mental illness and I’m not ashamed of it. It’s something I have to deal with and it doesn’t define all of who I am!

If you struggle with a mental illness, you are not alone. Take a deep breath and know you are an amazing warrior!

Amy Gamble 

Author – Olympian – Activist  

Author and OlympianAmy Gamble

Amy is a former Olympian, mental health advocate and activist focused on using her story as a way to impact the stigma of mental illness. She is currently writing a book titled, “Unsilenced: A memoir of healing from trauma.

www.amy-gamble.com

Type your email…

Subscribe

The post Beyond the Label: Seeing the Person Behind the Mental Illness appeared first on Shedding Light on Mental Health.