Hold on...this could get long. Its no secret that my life has been filled with struggles with mental illness. I'm not shy about it. I've had 4 psychiatric hospitalizations in 2 years. I've taken meds and been in therapy(well therapy on and off) since I was 17. I've got many diagnoses...more than I really care to share. I've attempted suicide. My arms bear the scars of years of self harm. Why do I share this? Not because I want attention or people to see me as strong or anything. I want to put a face to mental illness. I want people to see hey people who struggle with mental illness aren't scary. Statistically we are more likely to hurt ourselves or to be victims of a crime than to hurt anyone else!
It ticks me off anytime anything bad happens...be it a mass shooting, a mother killing her kids, a serial killer, a serial rapist etc...that people start shouting that the person behind it must be mentally ill. I see it happen on the news all the time. The first thing that happens when someone commits a crime is their mental health is called into question. I'm sorry but some people are just plain evil, are bad, are crazy (very different from mentally ill which is truly a sickness just like cancer), maybe even just born a bad seed.
I don't want people to be scared of me or anyone else with mental illnesses. Heck I catch ladybugs and put them outside, pick up starfish and put them back in the ocean, rescue cats, won't eat lobster or crab because of the cruelty involved in their deaths etc. Hardly someone who would even ever think of doing something horrible to another person (or any living creature!)
The only person I have ever been interested in harming or killing is myself. Thats it. I have never thought about, fantasized about, dreamed about or wanted to harm or kill someone else. I'm not a scary person. I'm not a strange person. I'm not a monster.
If you asked me to define myself...being mentally ill would not even make it into the mix. Being an animal lover with an unusual connection to animals, being creative, loving to write, loving to make others laugh, being a 100% carolina girl who loves the water, loving bright colors, rollerblading, swimming, being active with the cystic fibrosis foundation,loving to read, my intelligence, being a self taught computer whiz, having awesome hair, being an aunt...those are all things that would. And the further I get in recovery....the less it defines me. But as long as I live I will fight the stigma. I will do everything I can to make sure that myself and others like aren't stereotyped, stigmatized and feared. I am a person...not an illness.
Some of the funniest..most creative...sweetest...most caring people..smartest people I know struggle with mental illness. Some of the most brilliant and most creative people in history have struggled with mental illness
Its nothing to be ashamed of. And I wish more people could talk openly about their struggles. I bet it would help a lot of people not feel so alone and would encourage others to seek help. It would also help to put more faces to mental illness and help people see that we're just normal people...we're not so scary
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