- Anxiety, Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Perfectionism, PTSD, Recovery, Schizoaffective Disorder, Schizophrenia
The Weight of Mental Illness – The Invisible Burden on a Lifelong Struggle
Trigger Warning: Mention of Self-Harm From a young age, I began finding things along my path. I’m not sure which came first – depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, but they clung to me. And over the years, they swelled and shrunk at varying rates, but I could not shake them altogether. Each in turn flourished, multiplying symptoms. It became too much to carry in my hands, out where people could see. I felt the need to keep them out of sight, and tucked them into a backpack. Through the highs and lows of my childhood, this weight remained settled heavily on my shoulders. In junior high I found myself so…
- Anxiety, Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Perfectionism, PTSD, Recovery, Schizoaffective Disorder, Schizophrenia
An Invisible Disability – Understanding What You Can’t See
I feel like the world has this idea of what disabilities are supposed to look like. Yet, quite often, it doesn’t match what it’s really like. And having an invisible disability comes with it’s own cocktail of stigma and expectations. Personally, I often find myself examining my own disabilities through the eyes of others. But knowing that others don’t see my suffering has only served to hold me back. It’s taken me years to convince myself that whether or not I have a disability has nothing to do with what others see. What matters is how it feels and impacts your life. And while onlookers may never know the true…
- Advocacy, Anxiety, Depression, Eating Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, PTSD, Recovery, Schizoaffective Disorder, Schizophrenia
Accepting Mental Illness in Real Life
If someone having visible symptoms of a mental illness makes you uncomfortable, the solution is not for them to stop. Society needs to learn to be accepting of mental illness in more than just theory. And this doesn’t only hold true for mental health. People with illnesses and disabilities of all kinds face this kind of stigma. I’ve been on both sides. I remember sitting on the L train in Chicago one evening with a friend. Across the aisle, a gentleman who had been muttering to himself began to hit himself on his forehead repeatedly. It made me uncomfortable because I didn’t know how to respond. Do I intervene? Would…