Stigma

March 20, 2012 here">2012

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness here">mental illness and should never be taken with a grain of salt. I’ve come across various mentally ill people during my own quest for recovery. Many have been either ignorant or perhaps just uninformed on what having a <a class="StrictlyAutoTagAnchor" href="http://www.jharnisch.com/tag/mental-health" title="View all articles about mental health here">mental health condition is all about. I’ll often hear, “Just snap out of it!” I wish I could just do that, though I have my good days along with the bad. I make an honest attempt to educate others, yet without pushing the issue, on what it’s like to experience life with schizophrenia and how others around can be affected as well.

Without an open mind, and holding onto stigma, it doesn’t help either of us. I choose not to include in my life people who have no inherent desire to “understand,” and accept <a class="StrictlyAutoTagAnchor" href="http://www.jharnisch.com/tag/mental-health" title="View all articles about mental health here">mental health issues as something that millions of people suffer from.

Schizophrenia can be pretty darn devastating. Let’s all express our stories and do all we can to do away with stigma and dismissiveness. Let’s tell the world, even if just one person at a time! Let’s do away with the misunderstandings, and be friends!