stigma
People with mental illness represent one of the most deeply stigmatized groups in our culture. Learn more about it here.
My Diagnosis: One Year On
One year ago I wrote a blog post about being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. At the time of my diagnosis, I felt a mixture of emotions. The main ones were a combination of terrified and relieved, which is always difficult to explain. I was devastated after being diagnosed with a chronic, horrible condition, but I was pleased that I had a name to put against the symptoms I had suffered for all my life.
By Laura Holliday7 years ago in Psyche
Interviews with a Big Black Broad: Sessions #7
Interviewer: When did you began to seek professional help to treat your BDD? BBB: I'm sure it's not surprising that I was reluctant. I was complacent in dealing with my issues on my own up 'til the age of 28. I hid from mirrors. I would dwell in front of mirrors. I took down mirrors. I put them back up. I spent all my money on food, alcohol, makeup, hair products and expensive girdles of all kinds. I hid from the world for days and weeks on end. I drank to endure those moments when I gave in to the mounting pressures I felt to rejoin the world even when I felt the worst about myself. The annoyance of having to deal with a disorder that caused me to focus so much on myself had also taken its toll on me. I wasn't a purposefully vain person. I wasn't someone who would choose to be so self-consumed. I wanted to travel the world. I loved people and wanted to meet more of them from all walks of life. I didn't want to assume that everyone who stared at me only did so because they saw someone ugly. I needed the courage to live the life I ultimately wanted. How could I live any longer without being able to face myself in the mirror? Without being able to leave my house without being inebriated in some way? So, I faced the fact that I would remain stuck in the same positions in my life (literally) if I didn't at least try professional help.
By Anarda Nashai7 years ago in Psyche
Interviews with a Big Black Broad: Session #4
Interviewer: How did your collegiate aspirations relate to your experience with BDD? BBB: Before I begin, I should to warn you that this may be the most bizarre coming of age story you've ever heard. I chose a difficult major in college for two reasons: It was revered as prestigious and lucrative, and I was told that once I graduated from all those years of rigorous study, I would have little to no time for a social life while I practiced my trade. I wanted a career that would keep me so busy that I had no time to dwell on my awful appearance. I also wanted a preoccupation that would provide an understandable reason for why I had no time for romantic relationships—why I would never have children. My plan was to strictly focus on my studies, after which, I'd rely on my friends to satisfy whatever social needs I had. I loved to laugh and discuss politics, philosophy and art. So, I targeted those who majored in these subjects to help me indulge my interests when I wasn't studying my more conservative curriculum. Perhaps every now and then, I would enjoy a casual tryst or two if I was feeling up to it. I'd be a workaholic socialite from now on, I thought. Without time to focus on myself—to obsess over my ugliness, I could avoid what I referred to as "The cloud," which were my severely depressed episodes. My new distractions worked to steady my moods and lessen my obsessions. My grades were almost perfect. I'd even managed to acquire a small but well-coveted grant from the university strictly based on my academic merit. There are ugly people all over the world who are very prosperous, I thought. I studied the careers of very successful, powerful men who were also practicing the trade within the field I was studying. Most of them were single, with few or no children, and no one seemed to criticize their life choices. They weren't stigmatized for not living a conventional life. They were celebrated as playboys in fact. This was one of several observations that solidified my decision to become a playgirl. I could be satisfied with just a great career and friends. No husband. No children. I couldn't really conceive of living what all the other girls had coveted since holding their first doll baby: A "normal" life.
By Anarda Nashai7 years ago in Psyche
The Business of Being Mentally Ill
“It’s all in your head," “Stop worrying," “I wish I had OCD, my house would be spotless," “You don’t LOOK sick." Those of us with mental illnesses have heard these, and various iterations so many times that for the most part, we can block them out. Mental illness IS in fact in our heads, therein lies the problem. If people can’t see it, they assume it isn’t real. Unlike illnesses that are widely accepted and have outward symptoms such as cancer, colds, broken bones, and such, you can’t see a mental illness unless it has taken hold and caused you to leave marks. There are no outward bruises or tubes and wires, just an ongoing battle in your head.
By Michelle Shaver7 years ago in Psyche
Am I Really Alone? - Fighting Mental Health Stigma
When you're feeling great the world is your oyster: Happy, creative, out-going, social... the possibilities are endless. Life may throw you curve balls, but you just bat them back with ferocity and nothing stands in your way.
By Samuel Bastable7 years ago in Psyche
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
