IN THE NAME OF JESUS I speak with the love that Jesus, in his gospels, taught us to have for those the world wanted nothing to do with. I speak for my brothers and sisters. It is a well-known fact that people with mental health issues suffer a lot of stigma. But little attention is […]
Read More...May 2018 Do you dare to follow Jesus and be a radical like he was? Do you have the courage to overcome the stigma? Dishonest tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus’ sermons; but this caused complaints from the Jewish religious leaders and the experts on Jewish law because he was […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS More than anything, I’d like to help caregivers understand what it’s like to experience the pain caused by stigma—to get into the heart and mind of the sufferer. Only then will they know how important it is to fill their needs. But the one who wants to give care needs […]
Read More...People with mental health challenges live with the following: They are looked down on, They are not understood, Their truths not believed, They are shunned, rejected, excluded, They are made to feel ashamed, Their intellect is often underrated, Their opinions not respected. They are not taken seriously in the way well people are. This should […]
Read More...HEALING THE EFFECTS OF STIGMA I only wish I were younger so that I would have more time to speak to the wrongs I see in the world – to help a well-intentioned world see that there is something important missing in their efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness. What is missing […]
Read More...Have you read this book yet? It’s an account of a person who believes in justice and suffered for it. A line from John Swinton’s book about dementia caught my eye recently: “The question changes from ‘How can I tell my story well?, to ‘Who will tell my story well?’” I don’t have dementia, […]
Read More...LISTEN TO THE VOICES OF THOSE WHO LIVE WITH IT Trying to reduce stigma by having educators teach us about mental illness, only serves to show people how we’re different. It’s only by hearing from people who live with it—only by hearing how they’re hurt by stigma and discrimination—that compassion can grow and understanding reached. […]
Read More...THE EFFECTS OF STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION In 1999, I published a book encouraging those who, like me, had mental health issues. In an effort to encourage them, I wrote, “It’s not the end of the world.” I worked hard, trying to make the world a better place for them—in 2006, founding support groups, where they […]
Read More...THE CHURCH, MENTAL ILLNESS, AND US Jesus came to love and to heal those who are sick. And that should be the Church’s role. Teaching about mental illness is good, but it does nothing to remove stigma or discrimination. It does the opposite. It only serves to point out how our disabilities make us different […]
Read More...BOUNDARIES OR STIGMA? In 2017, during a difficult time of my life, I wrote the following: For a long time the concept of boundaries didn’t make sense to me. It hurt when I was shut out of various peoples lives. Oh, Lord, it hurt! How could I tell all I want to tell? How can I […]
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