Fighting mental illnesses: who’s on your “together” list?

 As I noted in yesterday’s post, the theme of OCD Awareness Week is “Dare to believe . . . together we can beat OCD.”

One word in that theme draws most of my attention: “together.”

We don’t have to fight OCD and other mental illnesses alone. We can draw support from each other. We can help each other.

Here’s my “together” list:

*My husband. He offers support and understanding when I struggle with the symptoms of OCD and depression. He “gets” me. He comforts me and makes me laugh when I need a good laugh.

*Medical doctors and therapists. Through the years, many have helped me deal with the symptoms of OCD and depression and have helped me improve.

*My cats. Spending time with them comforts me and brightens my days.

*Friends. Supportive friends listen to me and offer their understanding.

*Readers of this blog and writers of other blogs about OCD and other mental illnesses. I have connected with so many wonderful people who have been supportive of me in my battle with OCD and depression, and I am grateful.

*Experts who conduct research on mental illnesses. I may never meet them, but there are people busy studying and doing research on OCD and other mental illnesses, looking for ways to heal them.

*Authors who write about their experiences with OCD and other mental illnesses. They help me remember that I am not alone in my suffering and that there is hope for better times.

  Who would you include in “together”?

How can we beat OCD?

The theme of OCD Awareness Week is “Dare to believe . . . together we can beat OCD.”

I like the theme, but I admit that at first it gave me pause. Beat OCD? Could obsessive-compulsive disorder ever really be beaten?

I was thinking in terms of a cure: a medication or a medical procedure or something that would take away OCD symptoms completely and for good.

But there are other ways to beat OCD.

The level of knowledge about OCD in my lifetime has grown tremendously, amazingly. I believe in cures and hope with all my heart for a complete cure for OCD, if not in my lifetime, then as soon as possible to help as many people as possible.

Short of a cure, I believe there are other ways we can beat OCD and other mental illnesses.

*Every time we check the light for one minute instead of five minutes, we beat OCD.

*Every time we delay washing our hands after touching an object we obsess over as contaminated, we beat OCD.

*Every time we don’t drive around the block to check the road for bodies, we beat OCD.

*Every time we read through a chapter just one time, despite the urge to reread it, we beat OCD.

*Every time we walk up the path and don’t turn around to see if the stick is really a nail, we beat OCD.

*Every time we sit with our anxiety and tolerate it, we beat OCD.

*Every time we try an exposure, we beat OCD.

*Every time we take prescribed medication as prescribed, we beat OCD.

*Every time we learn something new about OCD, we beat OCD.

  What other ways can we beat OCD, or other mental illnesses?

A week of awareness: I will no longer be ashamed

This week is OCD Awareness Week and Mental Illness Awareness Week.

I have mental illnesses. I also have physical illnesses.

It’s much easier for me to tell people I have high blood pressure and asthma than it is to tell them that I have obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

Why is it easier for me to talk about physical illnesses? In large part it is because of the stigma about mental illness.

I’ve written about the stigma of mental illness, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, before. But I thought it worth exploring again, especially during this week of awareness.

In that previous post, I gave the definition for stigma found in The American Heritage Dictionary: “A mark or token of infamy, disgrace, or reproach.”

Stigma about mental illness gives the impression that people with mental illnesses have something to be ashamed of. And it has negative effects on those who do suffer from such illnesses.

The book From Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis, by Rosalynn Carter with Susan K. Golant and Kathryn E. Cade, states the following:

“One of the most insidious effects is that stigma gives rise to stereotypes: People experiencing mental illnesses are considered to be lacking in judgment or weak willed; they are seen as incompetent, unreliable, and unable to make decisions for themselves. It is thought that they can’t work, hold public office, or even live on their own; they are dangerous, unpredictable, and violent; they have brought these problems on themselves; and they will never get better.

The truth is very different. Most people with serious mental illnesses recover and do well in the world—go to school, flourish in their jobs, own homes—yet they are considered to be rare exceptions. The stereotypic beliefs held by the general public and by many people who experience the illnesses do not reflect what modern science and other people living with mental illnesses themselves have to tell us” (p. 22-23 in electronic edition).

  So when people find out that someone has a mental illness, they may automatically think the worst of that person. If they think that person is unreliable and lacking in judgment, someone who isn’t competent, then it’s likely they will treat him or her differently than they would someone without a mental illness.

As the authors of From Within Our Reach state, “Stigma is the most damaging factor in the life of anyone who has a mental illness. It humiliates and embarrasses; it is painful; it generates stereotypes, fear, and rejection; it leads to terrible discrimination. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that stigma keeps people from seeking help for fear of being labeled ‘mentally ill’” (p. 21 in electronic edition).

  And when people don’t get help for their mental illness, they suffer needlessly.

  So what we do to get rid of the stigma about mental illness?

Authors Carter, Golant and Cade state that people may fear someone who seems different and not have compassion for them (p. 24 in electronic edition). Therefore, interaction with people with mental illness may help: “Researchers have shown that having contact with people who have mental illnesses helps to reduce stigma because it fosters empathy” (p. 28 in electronic edition).

  The authors state that “research shows we are not making any meaningful progress in accepting those with mental illnesses. We can only hope for this to change when more and more individuals are willing to talk openly about their experiences” (p. 29 in electronic edition).

  So where does that leave those of us with mental illnesses? Does that mean that we need to go out and tell everyone we know that we have mental illnesses?

  I don’t think so. I think we can be selective in choosing the people we tell and how we tell them.

  Those of us who choose to blog about our mental illnesses are telling a potentially large audience about our disorders.

  In the offline world, we can be even more selective, telling people we think will be supportive.

  We can begin to inform more and more people about the realities of mental illnesses.

  And we can choose to tell no one. There is no shame in that.

  One thing I think all of us with mental illnesses should do is to begin to work on our own attitudes and to try to erase any shame we may feel about having mental illnesses.

  I’ve set the intention to no longer feel ashamed of having mental illnesses. I may continue to have moments of embarrassment and shame, but those will lessen over time as I work on that intention.

  Have you ever experienced or witnessed stigma about mental illness?