The Stigma of ‘dangerous’

It’s a commonly held belief in society that people who are having a mental health experience are somehow unpredictable or dangerous. Although all types of people can have the capacity to be ‘unpredictable’ or ‘dangerous’ having a mental health experience does not nessecarily mean you are more likely to exhibit this behaviour. People who are having a mental health experience are much more likely to be either socially excluded or exclude themselves because of the self stigmatisation which happens because of this stigma. Imagine for a moment that you believed you couldn’t trust yourself to behave normally in social situations and you will be getting somewhere close to what some people go through whilst having a mental health experience. I myself have sometimes felt like this, it can happen to anyone, I am neither dangerous or unpredictable. If anything I am loving, calm and responsive. Stigma does not discriminate. Please reconsider the stand point of a fear based mentality when approaching mental health. Give in to loving kindness, get to know that person you’ve been secretly wary of, you might be surprised by who you find.