Shame

I have found that it is easy to feel ashamed about my mental health. So many stigmas hang over you, so many unhelpful responses to my experience. There are those who feel like being 'well' is something they need to congratulate you on. On the face of this, it seems pretty innocuous, doesn't it? People wishing you well and congratulating you on your recovery, but I say there is something deeply unsettling about society's need to reduce us to a 'well'/'unwell' paradigm. Am I as one-dimensional as a diagnosis of 'well'/'unwell'? How come these people don't ask me about my interpretation of my own mental health experience? Is it somehow all fixed if I appear well? When I appear well, does that mean all of the undignified and disrespectful experiences I have had to endure simply disappear because I am conforming to how people so desperately want to perceive me? This is why speaking up about my mental health experience is so important. It educates people on how to speak to someone like me. Most people don't actually know, and this leads to what can feel like a very isolating experience. Shame comes in when we buy into the societally conditioned stigma and the self-stigma we all experience. It is with grace and kindness to ourselves that we reduce this and, of course, by talking openly about our experiences. It's hard, I know, but we owe it to ourselves.