Hush The Stigma

The stigma on mental illness does more harm than any good. In fact, it helps approximately 0 people getting info from the ones who either play ignorant or flat out don’t care. It harms the millions of people dealing with mental health issues who are unable to reach out for genuine assistance.

The stigmas are like backwash to your beverage of choice. It’s the dirt ring leftover after that much needed bath from the daily grind. They are the hairballs from your fluffy kitty after a calamity of a hack. The mental illness stigma is a huge deterrent, keeping plenty of people from seeking help when they need understanding.

The Stain:

Not only does mental illness feel like a stain on the brain, but thanks to stigmas, a stain on society as well. It wasn’t until I was in my mid twenties did I realize that my mental anguish even had a name. The surprising part to me was that the name is OCD. The stain on OCD, and my understanding of what it was back then, was that it meant being a neat-freak. I’m not even tidy, in fact, cleaning is a task I used to find extremely difficult to complete with intrusive thoughts triggering from left and right.

Someone took one quirk from someone else who deals with obsessive compulsive disorder and made a mockery of it. From there it became defined and butchered with “odd-ball” characteristics within all forms of entertainment. It sounds harmless, might even capture a few laughs. Which is fine, nothing wrong with a few laughs. But it’s misguiding, which then leads to a lack of understanding. And when that lack of understanding is about your own self, it causes torment and depression.

Mental health stigmas like this allow for the illnesses and disorders to linger and feed for far longer than they should. Where if we know what we are dealing with from the jump, we can starve it. Without the stain, it’s much easier to discuss the issue so that we can find the remedy.

Mental Health Stigmas:

Complaining sucks, it doesn’t help anything without action. Stigmas that attach themselves to mental health conversations are “stop complaining”, “we all deal with that”, and “get over it”. No one wants to burden others with their issues, so most people hold it in, suffering in silence.

It’s not a burden or complaining when you just want someone who understands. That simple understanding can lead to actions in the right direction. Yes, we all deal with anxiety or versions of depression, we are human. But blanket statements like these lead to mistreatment. Mistreatment leads to more agony, so be careful of one size fits all.

We all deal with things a bit different. My OCD isn’t your OCD. Your anxiety isn’t her anxiety. His depression isn’t her depression. But in sharing, we find connections, and connections build the strongest foundations.

We have to silence the stigma. Not by complaining, but by connecting. Do not let the interpretation of others belittle what you are dealing with so much that we quit on reaching for being better. There are plenty of strong woman with weak moments. There are plenty of vulnerable men who ‘man up’ at any given moment.

Fuck the stigma, it doesn’t see the beauty in being unique.

The Stigma – Let Go Of The Sting:

It makes it impossible to move on when we hold a grudge. I’ve been stung by the stigma and others have too. When I realized that I dealt with, hid, and fed my OCD for over a decade, simply because I was ignorant to its existence. Yeah, it stings, and I will fight for others to not have to go through it that drastically from a lack of knowledge. But I simply have to let go of the sting for myself or the stigma will keep haunting.

The phrase ‘so OCD’ will bother sufferers because it is blindly mocking. And if they truly understand what OCD puts us through, they might not find it so cute. As a result, this is our opportunity to educate instead of getting upset. The stigma exist, and being upset is not going to make it go away. I try my best to let go of the sting in moments like these. That’s my recommendation and I’m sticking to it.

Mental health is a struggle as it is. Compulsions for us OCDoers are already taking up an insane amount of waisted time. Don’t waste more time giving the sting your effort and emotions. Stigmas for all types of mental health are out there. Fight it with an educating voice, not a fork (because forks feed, and… never mind).

What The Stigma Isn’t:

It’s not just quirks, it’s not just oddities, it’s not simply crying, though it can lead to a cry for help. When the stigma is presented in its many forms and fashions, it is only a glimpse of the possible truth. There is way more behind it then what is present at face value.

It may be portrayed as funny, may seem weak, made to look strange and confusing. But understand that there is someone not laughing, someone gaining strength from their weakness, as well as confused with this strangeness. It is not what you see on the surface. There is a hidden battle going on that requires more strength then the stigma portrays.

So lets hush the stigma and help cure stigma.

Let me know if you found this helpful. I am curious to hear your spin. Leave a comment or find me on Twitter @UghOCD or Instagram @brentleybigkid.