Stigma about yourself

Bring Change 2 Mind is an organization that works “to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness.” I believe in their mission and message, and I follow them on Facebook and Twitter (@bc2m).

I keep seeing their message about a Stigma Free Summer, which they explain on their website: “BC2M wishes its community a #StigmaFreeSummer. Let's start conversations, reserve judgment, extend empathy and end stigma.”

The definition of stigma, according to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, is “a mark of shame or discredit.”

There are people who feel like having a mental illness is like having a mark of shame or discredit. A stigma.

Stigma about mental illness sometimes is directed by people who are misinformed or careless toward people living with mental illness.

Sometimes it’s people living with mental illness who direct stigma at themselves.

Over a year ago, I wrote a post about “Depression and lingering stigma.” In that post, I wrote about my struggle to reach the point of asking for help:

“Because no matter how many times I’ve gone through these bouts of depression, I still doubt myself. I still tell myself that I should be able to deal with this depression on my own, without a doctor’s help. After all, I’m already on an antidepressant. After all, I should be able to rise above it, snap out of it.

Yes, I sometimes buy into the stigma about depression.”

I’m not feeling the same now as I did when I wrote that post. My depression is under control.

But I am experiencing a lot of anxiety and intrusive thoughts, connected to my damaged relationship with my mother.

I don’t doubt the decision I made. But I’m having trouble adjusting to it. I think I’m grieving, in a way.

And I haven’t wanted to write about it on this blog or tell others about it. I have feared that I should be able to deal with it better since I reached a decision after all the years of therapy and soul searching.

Maybe I was dwelling on it too much. Maybe I wanted to feel bad. Maybe I should just snap out of it. That’s what I’ve been thinking.

Self-stigma.

I’d like to be a part of a stigma free summer. So you may see more posts here about how I’m healing, what I’m experiencing, what I’d doing about the guilt that still plagues me emotionally, though rationally I feel OK.

Maybe I will start some conversations. Maybe I will remind someone else that he or she is not alone in having confusing feelings.

Let’s get rid of the stigma.

Bring Change 2 Mind

Last week, as I watched TV one evening, I saw a commercial that addressed the stigma of mental illness. It blew me away with its effectiveness:

I got up right then and went to my computer to look up “Bring Change 2 Mind.” I found a website for the nonprofit co-founded by actress Glenn Close.

Its mission is the following:

“To emerge as the world's most effective organization working to eradicate the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness through widely distributed Public Education Materials based on the latest scientific insights and measured for effectiveness.

To act as a portal to a broad coalition of organizations that provide service, screening, information, support and treatment of mental illness.”

Its partner organizations include Mental Health American, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the National Institute of Mental Health.

On the website, you can find facts about mental illnesses and and resources for finding out more.

There’s also a space for sharing your story about mental illness and reading the stories of others.

The website includes helpful videos, including an interview with Close about why she became a mental health advocate. Her sister has bipolar disorder, and a nephew has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

While on the website, I chose to take the pledge to work to erase the stigma of mental illness. The pledge reads in part:

“For people living with mental illness:

*I am living with a mental illness that is treatable and manageable.

*I am a valuable and valued person and I deserve to be treated with respect.

*I am responsible for the decisions and choices I make in my life.

*Educating myself about the symptoms of my illness, and any side effects I may have from treatment, will help me find and use the resources I need to work toward stability.

*Communicating about my experiences with others will help them support me in difficult times and keep me “on track.”

*If I am feeling suicidal, it is critical that I reach out for help, for in the face of real pain and suffering, it is others who can help me with a commitment to live.

*I can reduce stigma in myself and in others by being open about living with mental illness, naming it out loud, and raising people’s awareness.”

  I'm glad to see an organization dedicated to something as important as this. The stigma of mental illness causes a lot of pain. I realize that I must do my part to fight it.

I encourage you to check out the website. And please come back here and comment about what you found.