stigma
People with mental illness represent one of the most deeply stigmatized groups in our culture. Learn more about it here.
Smile like You Mean It
Catharsis. Someone recently asked me what it felt like to be Bipolar. If I'm honest, I was shocked—it felt like a fundamentally basic question that no one had asked me before. Manic Depression, Bipolar, whatever you want to call it—it’s something I live with, but rarely admit to people. I suppose "live" is the operative word in that sentence; I prefer it to suffer, affected, or handicapped. Those words always make me feel like I should be ill with a temperature, or worse. However, in a way I do suffer, am affected, and when I'm in a depressive swing—handicapped.
By Oliver Raczek7 years ago in Psyche
Mental Health in the Media
Mental Health in the Media has always been a problem in this world. It's amazing and heartbreaking to see what people with illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, and personality disorders go through on a day to day basis. But the sad truth is, almost no movie or TV show will EVER get a mental illnesses 100 percent correct.
By Simone Rain7 years ago in Psyche
Putting Up a Front Is Dangerous
I’m very good at putting up a front so this is difficult to talk about out in the open, but I’ll do my best. Few know what it is like to grow up with an untreated disability, where my own family denied the fact I needed medication. In high school, I tried very hard to put up a front of positivity. I had no medication to help me stabilize my moods. It was hard to be so positive and smiley all time as I barely had access to therapy.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
Crazy
When I had what I call, my breakdown, I was just out of an 18 year marriage. I had four beautiful children, who meant the world to me, no experience in a current job market and I felt alone, rejected, abandoned and very, very sad. My weekend alcoholic, husband had decided to leave me for another woman and I was overwhelmed and devastated. My world had come crashing down and I woke up one morning, sat on the sofa and started to cry uncontrollably. I cried for all of the above reasons, I cried basically, because I just couldn’t stop the tears. After about a week of no signs of the waterworks stopping, my kids started looking at me like I might be, well you know...CRAZY! I decided to ask around about what my lack of emotional control might mean?
By Marsha Morgan Medina7 years ago in Psyche
No, I Don't Think Your Joke Is Funny
The Millennial Generation is known as the generation that is offended by everything. We are told constantly that we take things too seriously, we’re too sensitive, and too self-righteous; we’re seen as a generation that needs to “grow up and stop whining” (Proud). Yet, as the micro, and not so micro, aggressions of our time continue to roar, I think it’s safe to say we have to question what the millennials are offended for. In the case of comedy, we come in contact with jokes which harness sexism, racism, and ableism for their own purposes. This is why I, an over-sensitive, too self-righteous, and concerned millennial, do not think your joke is funny.
By Emily Fritz7 years ago in Psyche
The Diary of a Broke, Anxious Woman Living with Depression
As a kid, I never knew. Sadly, mental health does not get covered in schools nearly enough, or at least it didn't when I was there. That's why I never even knew I was plagued with mental illness at such a young age. I just assumed what everyone assumed. I was a weird kid. There was no way I could've known any better.
By Waverleigh Rose Garlington7 years ago in Psyche
My Hidden Scars
Cutting yourself is for attention, right? Wrong. It’s all so familiar, the teen with cuts all down their arms, ridiculed by the same students that comment “scars are beautiful” for likes and an ego boost. It’s become a large part of social media, all based on stereotypes and judgements from ignorant reflections on a laptop screen.
By Lovatic Love7 years ago in Psyche
The R-Word Is Unacceptable Here or Anywhere
Dear Comedians, My name is Texxx-Man Cosplay and I'm not only a LGBTQ+ cosplayer, but I'm also a cosplayer with a disability. I was diagnosed with Autism, which is a developmental disorder characterized by troubles with social interaction and communication and by restricted and repetitive behavior. My autism is mild, meaning that I may find work settings more challenging than an individual with greater language challenges but fewer sensory or social problems. Later on in my adult life, I was diagnosed with Aspergers. As a kid, I struggled to communicate with the other children and was isolated all the time. Now as an adult, I still feel isolated from my friends and everyone that supports and loves me. I still go through so many challenges daily like I did in my younger years.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 7 years ago in Psyche
