A Message to our Community, from VP Sarah Comerford
An important message to our community from Vice President Sarah Comerford.
Stigma Fighters : Matthew Eaton
Is admitting being a victim of child sexual abuse courageous? There are times I doubt this power as I look at myself in the mirror. I am still remarkably human. The hair fades in color and quantity. The waist still expands as if my stomach had a mind of its own. I still have flaws, [...]
Stigma Fighters : Nabilah Safa
The world was spinning again. It was as though I could hear everything and nothing all at once. A constant buzzing of sound. A voice that I didn’t recognize was trying to explain something, but what was that voice trying to say? It was important, very important. Why didn’t they understand? Why was she looking [...]
Stigma Fighters : Alana Romain
This Is What Depression Looks Like Earlier this year, I came off of my antidepressant medication. It was a poorly thought out decision, (I have a pretty difficult history with depression and mental illness), and I did it cold turkey, even though I knew better. Still, I thought I’d be okay. I wasn’t okay. The [...]
Stigma Fighters : Jonathan Harnisch
The Delusional Thinking Process: To the Victor Go the Spoils In the old days of war, the winning army pretty much got to loot the countryside and take what they wanted—wealth, crops, women, whatever. These would be the spoils of victory. In a relatively civilized setting, we tend to use this term symbolically or [...]
Stigma Fighters : Peter M. Olsen
A trigger warning to those whose lives have been touched by suicide. This is a very raw, honest account of my suicide attempt in mid-2012. These are thoughts and feelings I had in the moments leading up to my suicide attempt. This in no way, shape, or form represents my current state of mind today. [...]
Stigma Fighters : Shawna Ayoub Ainslie
Anxious All Over I’m anxious all over. You can’t know me without seeing it. You don’t really need to know me to see it. I am told frequently to calm down. Strangers reassure me that “everything is okay.” And I know they mean well, but it hurts sometimes. I’ve been guilty of this myself—looking at [...]
Stigma Fighters : Gina L. Ciaccia
To The Journey: My Road to Understanding Mental Illness Despite many people perceiving bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses as a struggle or hardship, over time, I have come to embrace the life lessons that they can teach. I would briefly like to elucidate and describe these lessons. I have truly been touched by a [...]