More than anything, people with mental health challenges need to have support from those who will listen to them and learn what their life is like. This is especially true for those living with borderline personality disorder (BPD). As a mental illness it’s probably the most stigmatized of all, causing 10% to die by suicide. […]
Read More...Having a mental illness doesn’t mean that a person has any less ability to reason than the next person. It doesn’t mean they’re any less able to know when wrong is done. It doesn’t mean they cannot feel the pain when they are being mistreated. And it doesn’t mean that the truth about that mistreatment […]
Read More...When we begin to struggle with mental health challenges, we’re given meds and we’re given a label (a diagnosis). And from that time forward, it’s hard not to live without a different persona—one that is looked down on. One that even we ourselves look down on. We may lose our confidence. Many in this unfair […]
Read More...What happened to those voices that did the initial work of raising mental health awareness in the Church? Stories of what it feels like to be discriminated against are not heard because those who are affected are shunned when they want to tell about their pain. No one listens anymore. Why do the powers that […]
Read More...There is an insidious form of stigma that’s common in the lives of people with mental illness. It’s caused by mistreatment that’s real but not obvious, and so, when complaints are made, they’re not believed. The victims’ ability tell the truth about a situation, is all too often questioned. That’s unfair and a great injustice. […]
Read More...In June 2015 I wrote: “Now-a-days I often have to preface what I say to everyone with “Have I told you this before?” My short-term memory has become unbelievably bad and I often find myself repeating things. Sometimes I say something, only minutes later again, without knowing it. It’s embarrassing.” But testing showed no sign […]
Read More...Many people would call me stupid. Why would a person diagnosed with a shameful condition like borderline personality disorder (BPD) want to let everyone know about it? She must be crazy. But you see, I don’t believe there’s a good reason to be ashamed of BPD. I’m a person like any other. My illness is […]
Read More...From an anonymous person: “People who have not experienced it simply do not understand the emotional and even physical toll mental health issues cause. Suicidal thoughts and ideations became the norm for me. It is not that I ever truly wanted to die, I was just tired of living. I was tired of the pain […]
Read More...From Wichita: “Yesterday, I had to say goodbye to a dear friend of mine, because I became emotional and said things I never should have. I tried to be responsible. I walked away so she wouldn’t have to deal with that, because no one should have to. I told my siblings what I really thought […]
Read More...Here is another sharing from the person in Wichita, KS: Imagine the most intense feeling you have ever had in your life. Maybe it’s the first time you fell in love, or the worst argument you have ever had with someone you love. The intensity with which you felt those emotions is probably equivalent to […]
Read More...© 2021 Marja Bergen
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