Depression:End The Stigma
I’ve heard it said that you would never blame someone who got cancer for their illness, and it really struck a chord with me. The stigma of mental illness runs so deep that even as someone who has suffered from depression I find myself struggling to separate fact from fiction. I too have been told so many times that the people who take their own lives are selfish or didn’t care about the people they left behind.
I’ve been led to believe that there’s nothing medically wrong with me when I feel deeply depressed or feel nothing at all which often happens to me during the winter, but that I just need to change my perspective that I need to “get ahold of myself and “be grateful.” Sometimes it’s not that easy. Sometimes it’s impossible. When I was a teenager, I was depressed all the time, and I couldn’t find a purpose in living, my purpose in living. Everything I tried to do to ease the pain only masked it, and no one seemed to understand what I was going through. Everyone thought it was a stage and in the end, even my doctors blamed me for not wanting to get better. When I wanted to get better, I would. That was pretty much what they told me. It was my choice, and I could either choose to “do the right things” or I could keep going down the path I was on.
Once a month I fight my emotions as I battle my depression and waves of emotions that wash over me, and I fear that I won’t be okay. It’s scary, and I often feel very alone in my fight which is why I was when I heard about BC2M I knew I wanted to learn more about this organization and share it with you.
Bring Change 2 Mind is a nonprofit organization built to start the conversation about mental health, co-founded by Glenn Close, is hoping to amplify its mission by bringing this discussion about mental illness online to build the awareness, understanding, and empathy necessary to inspire action to end stigma and discrimination. Mental illnesses, such as depression, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and ADD, affect millions of people worldwide and they, we, need a safe place where we can speak, and be heard.
I love this powerful music video “Ghost Story,” by Whitney Woerz, and I hope you will take a moment to watch it. Even if you don’t suffer from mental illness, you probably know and love someone that does.
Check it out here:
If you are fighting mental illness remember, you’re not alone. Please, share your story, and join Bring Change 2 Mind in fighting the stigma!
Want to read the stories of others? Check them out here! If you would rather watch stories, you can do that too!
About Bring Change 2 Mind:
To end 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.
Bring Change 2 Mind is a national anti-stigma campaign aimed at removing misconceptions about mental illness. The idea was born out of a partnership between Glenn Close and Fountain House, where Glenn volunteered in order to learn more about mental illness, which both her sister, Jessie Close, and nephew, Calen Pick, live with.
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~ This post was sponsored by Bring Change 2 Mind. All opnions are mine alone.