stigma!

[jojosparkles]

i am not the type of person to get annoyed but this infuriates me! mental health has such a stigma! it drives me crackers!!

why does everyone think that if ya hav a mental health problem that ya a absolute nutter. they dont realise that ppl are normal and have had normal lives up until they hav faced a problem in which everyday things become hard.

they also think that if ya depressed ya should look like shit. i could b all dolled up and look fine on the outside but on the inside feel suicidal!

wat annoys me the most tho is that my mam would never tell anyone. she is ashamed! im not ashamed, as i have realised that this is who i am and ppl can like me or hate me! im still the same joanna i have always been. i think she thinks that if she told someone they would think i was a ravin loony who needs lockin up! or someone a bit strange!

ppl really need to wake up to the fact that mental health can affect anyone of any age at any time of there life!

i feel so strongly about this, that as soon as im better i am goin to teach about mental health to the community because wat gets me down the most is the fear that someone will find out about my problem and think im absolutely crazy!!!

 

[Boundless]

I understand what you mean,i tell people in my family i have mental health issues and they assume im a nutter lol,there uneducated on the subject so they do just assume that mental health problems means your a looney,they dont realise that you dont have to look and act insane to have these problems.Its why i dont really wish to talk to to many people about my problems as many dont understand.

 

[jojosparkles]

yeah i kno! sometimes i think its just ignorance aswell. my parents choose to ignore it all togetha!

anutha thing aswell is that when it comes to applyin to a job if you put on ya cv that u have been off because of mental health problems it dont really look good. ya may aswell just say that you were on the dole!!

 

[LA-girl]

Yeah, this really upsets me as well. My boss at work tells me all the time that it is hard for him to believe I have this issue (SA) because I look so good and seem fine to him. I do not look like someone with these type of problems he says! It is like he thinks I'm making this up in order to get sympathy or whatever...well he could not be further from the truth :!:

 

[jojosparkles]

exactly! it is like ppl think that you are going for the sympathy vote or you are an attention seeker!

i wish they knew how much it takes for me to get up, get ready, put me clothes and make up on, do me hair and walk out the door on a mornin! it wears me out just doin that!! just cos a dont look a state dont make me all fine and dandy! i hide behind my make up anyway!!

 

[alicia_]

yeah there really are alot of uneducated ppl around when it comes to mental health. :evil:

I try and educate ppl a little (i study psychology so they dont necessarity have to know that i'm having a mental problem), ive mentioned to quite a few ppl that 1 in 5 ppl will suffer depression or anxiety at some stage in their life and that depression (whcih is related to anxiety) is predicted to be one of the leading causes of death in the future.

Im sure you guys know this but ppl are amazed when i point this out. Btw these stat are for us downunder.

TO family member or close friends i would recommend giving them one of those pamphlet things you can get from the docters office about anxiety and social phobia, that way its like you have proof that it does exist (not that i agree you should need it)