The stigma of mental illness

One of my fellow campers had a great line - "I'm going through stuff I wouldn't want on a t-shirt." We all chuckled because we immediately understood.

But at the same time, we've been told that there is nothing wrong with being mentally ill.  That it is not our fault.  It is our genetic make-up, our inheritance from our genetic background. Therefore, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

OK, don't you see the massive inconsistency.  If there is nothing to be ashamed of why don't we have t-shirts and fundraisers to find a cure.  Why don't we have plastic arm-bands, along the lines of "feel strong."  And if we do have them and I don't know about it - why is it so hidden that I haven't found it.

And if there is nothing wrong, why is my work place - which shall pointedly not be named - treating me so differently than folks with other disabilities or medical conditions.  Why do I have extra hoops to go through, extra pressure put on me, and a total lack of understanding and empathy.  

Because I am mentally ill and that scares people.  Because mental illness has been made fun of for way too long.  Can you imagine making fun of someone with breast cancer?  You'd be shut down mighty fast by the posse.  But making fun of the mentally ill, the crazies, the loonies, that's still socially acceptable.  How often have you heard someone say - "She's a head case."  Or "He must be manic."  It's OK to ridicule the nut jobs.  And every time we do, we erode their sense of self worth, and degrade the public's opinion of mental illness.

But of course, those of us that are mentally ill - we can poke fun at ourselves all we want. Because we need to lighten the load.  And hey, we're all crazy anyway.