Stigma against mental illness is a scourge with many faces, and the medical community wears a number of those faces.
I am privileged to have people around me who understand mental illnesses and mental health. However, the stigma around it is huge.
The sad truth is that millions of people with mental illness suffer stigma and prejudice, especially at work.
The problem with the stigma around mental health is really about the stories that we tell ourselves as a society. What is normal? That's just a story that we tell ourselves.
I don't agree with this romantic fantasy that people who suffer from depression are more likely to be artists. I find that I am more creative when I am happy actually.
I don't like the term 'mental illness.' I'd rather just say 'mad.' Just like I always say 'loony bin,' not 'mental hospital.'
I'm thought of as this pissy, complaining, freaked-out schizophrenic who wants to kill himself all the time.
The implication that depressed people are fundamentally irresponsible is a deeply damaging and counterproductive one. Winston Churchill was a depressive. He didn't just fly planes; he was in charge of the Royal Air Force.
Once you're labeled as mentally ill, and that's in your medical notes, then anything you say can be discounted as an artefact of your mental illness.
