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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christ_empowered on September 28, 2014, at 1:28:50
If you are or have been seriously mentally ill, there's bound to be stigma. I didn't get it until...well, now...because I was...mentally ill. And not just a tad bit, either.
I'm in recovery, which is wonderful. I'm blessed in many respects. But...the stigma, of having *been* the other and now being denied entrance to the mainstream...
...and the shrinks are all too often part of the problem. In my case, socioeconomic issues play a huge role. I came from a middle class, white collar family. They're now more upper middle class, and they're solidly behind me, against all odds.
What's the difference? Its like..."rinky dink middle class family," you don't really get empathy or compassion, or at least I didn't. Pills? Yes! Compassion? Try again later.
More upper middle/upper class...they actually talk to you. Imagine that...a touch of compassion. Less emphasis on pills, more on recovery. Less harshness. More space.
The stigma thing would probably be unbearable if my parents hadn't moved up the totem pole and gotten behind me. Unemployed...check. SSI? Check. Working on a degree? I *can*, because of my people. So I do.
And I remember who I was, where I was, before...and I think of all those who go "off the rails" and don't have the luxury of coming back on someone else's dime.
So, yeah...stigma. What's been your experience?
Posted by baseball55 on September 28, 2014, at 19:32:00
In reply to stigma, posted by Christ_empowered on September 28, 2014, at 1:28:50
Unlike you, I've had nothing but great experiences with mental health providers. I am educated and middle-pay but high status occupation. But I am pretty sure my psychiatrist would treat me the same even if I were lower status.
I worry about stigma in work, acquaintances. I haven't tested this out. I don't tell any but close friends about how rough I've had it. When I was in and out of hospitals, I claimed physical illnesses. I just don't know how to tell an employer -- look, I'm in a locked ward for a suicide attempt and will be here for a few weeks. Instead, I have my husband call and say I had a heart attack or something.
Maybe it's my own fear of stigma, rather than actual stigma. I'm just not prepared to go there.
Posted by herpills on October 3, 2014, at 9:43:29
In reply to stigma, posted by Christ_empowered on September 28, 2014, at 1:28:50
I did some talk therapy last spring, and at one point the therapist asked me if I had ever been subjected to the stigma of mental health. I said yes, from other health care workers, mental health or other. They seemed surprised by this, but it is the absolute truth in my experience. The very people who are supposed to be helping you have no problem treating you like a second class citizen.
Posted by Christ_empowered on October 3, 2014, at 14:41:55
In reply to Re: stigma, posted by herpills on October 3, 2014, at 9:43:29
exactly, herpills! Its like...they deal in stigma and control.
Posted by Angela2 on October 13, 2014, at 18:07:33
In reply to stigma, posted by Christ_empowered on September 28, 2014, at 1:28:50
I guess my experience with stigma has been, sucky. But a lot of it...has been me and how I saw myself because of my "diagnosis," and I kinda projected that onto other people, like assuming people thought I was weird and messed up. My friend said to me once, recently, "you can do anything! You're very capable. You just need to do it, and believe in yourself." It's true, and I'm working on it. :)
This is the end of the thread.
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