cherokeepurple:

I post about my struggles with mental illness because I believe the more people are honest and vocal about it, the stigma attached to mental illness will lessen. It’s my hope anyway. Cause despite it being 2012, there is still a LOT of prejudice against mental illness.

I have PTSD from my abusive 15 going on 16 year marriage. I have panic disorder and anxiety disorder. I also have chronic depression. The depression started when I was 6 and being sexually abused. The abusive marriage didn’t help it any.

I have nothing to be ashamed of but you’d be surprised at the number of people that view this as a shameful thing. They’d NEVER talk about it with others much less post it online.

I have nothing to be ashamed of.

Many people never seek help because of the stigma attached to mental illness. They end up committing suicide, self medicating through drugs and/or alcohol, end up in prison for crimes relating to the self medicating, and sometimes they end up doing all three.

We need to learn that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m not ashamed. Mental illness, it is nothing to be ashamed of. It just isn’t. If someone DOES have a mental illness they shouldn’t be treated like they have a catching disease or are a freak or a disgrace. 

My ex-husband would tell me that my anxiety was ALL IN MY HEAD. As if I could control it just by deciding to do so. I wish. He thought medicating anxiety and depression was a weakness. It’s not. If someone is telling you this, ignore them. It’s NOT a weakness.

I go to a therapist once a week and a psychiatrist once a month. My goal is to become a healthy person. If I must take medication for the rest of my life, so be it. I don’t think I will but I won’t be upset if I do. My goal is to deal with the abuse of my past and work on me to ensure *I* don’t allow abuse in my present/future.

My other goal is to be honest about who I am and what illnesses I fight.

I have one more goal. It’s to help others not feel ashamed of being honest about who they are and what they fight for fear of shame and prejudice.

Feel free to share. 

I have struggled with depression for just about twenty years.  Only recently did I become aware that I also suffer from anxiety.  In fact, I believe that the anxiety is a much larger problem than the depression.  I also believe that the level of anxiety I sometimes experience is a partial cause of the depression.  The anxiety is exhausting and overwhelming and frustrating.  It makes me feel bad about myself, shy, tired, cranky, edgy, out of control, scared, volatile.  This combination can feel very depressing.

I cannot stress how much medication and therapy help.  More than you can ever imagine.  I am not cured, but life is infinitely more manageable.  And if I have to take medication long term/forever, I can handle that.  I see it as no different than needing to take daily medication for any other ‘condition’, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.  

Please get help if you need it.  Please seek help if you even THINK you MAY need it.  Don’t let anyone tell you that you are weak or stupid or lazy or a hypochondriac for asking for help.

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of.