Stigma: The negative connotation or thoughts associated with a particular topic, person or activity. 

Discrimination: The act of being treated differently due to circumstances, choices or personal associations. 

I think it’s really important to touch on these two definitions straight away, and why? Because stigma and discrimination are two things many people face when living with a mental illness. 

And it’s sad, because you wouldn’t have a negative stigma surrounding you if you broke your leg…

I remember when I was suffering with really bad depression, anxiety and extreme low self-esteem. I remember avoiding telling, showing or displaying my emotions for the pure fear that I’d get labelled “depressed” instead of being known to be that “bubbly, happy” girl. I didn’t want people to associate me with my emotions. 

Holding in how I felt lead me to feel isolated, trapped and all in all result in a spiralling trend downwards. I attempted taking my own life (thank god it didn’t work) and in that moment of defeat against myself, I knew deep down I could no longer try “do this by myself”. 

I almost looked stigma right in the face and told it to “go fuck yourself” as I booked my first doctors appointment. 

Suddenly I felt quite empowered, scared but still empowered. 

I remember going to see a beautiful therapist who helped me through a lot of internal shit and the thing that I soon realised was this, talking about what is making your heart and soul heavy is actually a really strong characteristic, not weak. 

Stigma surrounds mental illness because of the simple reason that many people don’t understand what living with mental illness feels like. Society has made individuals feel like they are weak or different, for circumstances they can’t help. 

Tips on How to get around stigma:

• Don’t isolate yourself 
• Reach out to a professional ( this can remove individuals feeling stigmatised or discriminated by close friends and family) 
• Speak out AGAINST stigma 
• Join a support group with like minded individuals 
• Understand stigma is that individuals opinion and NOT the truth surrounding your situation 

How to ensure YOU are not contributing to the stigma:

Use inclusive language 

For example: “A person who lives with mental health” 

This language put the person first, and NOT their health concerns. Making them feel like their mental health isn’t defining of who you are. 

Avoid language which is demining such as “crazy” “depressed” “insane” “psycho” 

STOP with the “I’m going to kill myself” jokes. 

Yes I know we’ve all been in a low place in life and thrown that sentence in to show how over it you are. But someone who is really struggling with life, contemplating whether or not to reach out - will most likely not reach out if you make jokes surrounding mental illness. 

Take people seriously when they even hint suggest or show any signs of changed mental health. 

 Often people miss or overlook signs of a change in mental illness, because they don’t take things seriously. Look out for your friends, families and close ones. 

So that’s this blog post done, short but serious. 

If you take anything away from this, remember this. 

You’re strong for seeking help and stigma surrounding mental health isn’t the truth - it’s an opinion which isn’t yours to soak in.

You’re Loved, stay safe, Ruby Grace x