Someone who says people that are mentally ill are "weak" pours anger onto the flames of burning my soul.
Can anyone fathom what it takes to wake up everyday barely able to stand, move and face yourself in the mirror pleading for "just one more day?"
We are not weak, in fact, we are far from it. We are fighting an illness that's attacking the control center of our entire bodies. People don't say someone with cancer is weak, instead there's an outpouring of support and praise from the strength of fighting.
Yet, most of us fighting mental illness stand alone in silence. We hide because of fear, stigma, judgement and misunderstanding. Our sickness is just like cancer it can and does kill you from the inside out.
Just as someone who's diagnosed with cancer or autism, or any other debilitating disorder didn't have a choice neither do we. We don't choose to be this way and no one in their right mind ever would.
We were born this way and most spend their childhood and adolescent years in struggles thought to be normal and just like cancer, it takes years for our illness to be given a "medical name", a diagnosis. One that has such a harsh ridiculed stigma and a failed, fragmented knowledge.
Society needs to wake the fuck up.
Do you want to know who's really weak? Those who pass judgement and call us "crazy" because they lack the strength and capacity to understand. They are the fucking cowards who would rather turn their backs instead of trying to help.
It's so much easier to conform to society than stand up and speak out for what nobody else is or does.
Everywhere you look you see ribbons and awareness, foundations, government funded assistance and support for almost every illness and disorder except mental illness. It's rarely spoken of and often avoided.
When do you ever see someone with a bracelet that dawns the green ribbon for bipolar and mental illness? How often do you see the pink, yellow, and rainbow ribbons? When their time in the awareness line approaches you see them everywhere like the latest fashion trend. In no way am I saying there shouldn't be awareness for these things because their should be.
What I'm stating are the obvious indications of a system that's flawed and a society that lacks knowledge because of this.
How many countless lives have to be lost before people wake up and educate themselves on the reasons why and become aware of the signs, symptoms and scientific facts?
Instead, those that chose to end their suffering are stamped with a stigma that evolves around anger, assumptions, judgements and misunderstandings.
Suicide is yet another reason people call those with mental illness weak.
"We give up." "We didn't try." "We were weak."
FUCKING BULLSHIT.
How many countless days, weeks, months or years do you think those who end their lives fought with every last breathe against a battle that would enfeeble and cripple anyone?
How many days do you think they stood with tears streaming down their face saying to themselves "Please, just one more day.. one more day?"
Yet if someone who was suffering from cancer decided to end their suffering there would be sympathy, empathy, and tender words. "They couldn't fight anymore."
Just because you can't see our illness doesn't mean it's not as devastating and painful. The vast majority don't know this because no one speaks of it. It's avoided like the homeless man who sits on the corner reeking of filth.
Yet you wonder why hope is lost in so many.
Drug addicts and alcoholics have endless resources and funded assistance for rehabilitation and treatment while the mentally ill only have short stints in the hospital and outpatient therapy that's a battle within itself to get insurance companies to cover. That's not enough and it's the short comings of this limited treatment that drive so many into the ground.
Drug addicts CHOSE to their drug of choice and alcoholics CHOSE to take their first drink and the many after but as for the mentally ill, WE DID NOT CHOOSE THIS. We can not change the faltered chemistry in our brains. WE WERE BORN THIS WAY.
Depression, Bipolar, PTSD, Schizophrenia.. all froms of mental illness that thousands, millions are facing and fighting every day. Fighting alone in silence and fear with limited help from a ignorant society.
Where's the assistance for the veterans who experienced and saw traumatic things defending a country who hands out checks to the millions who are functional and able to work but chose not to?
I'm saying these things from the front lines of this silent battle and from my endless research and outreach that's become a dead end from all angles.
I've been searching from months making countless calls only to be told
Can anyone fathom what it takes to wake up everyday barely able to stand, move and face yourself in the mirror pleading for "just one more day?"
We are not weak, in fact, we are far from it. We are fighting an illness that's attacking the control center of our entire bodies. People don't say someone with cancer is weak, instead there's an outpouring of support and praise from the strength of fighting.
Yet, most of us fighting mental illness stand alone in silence. We hide because of fear, stigma, judgement and misunderstanding. Our sickness is just like cancer it can and does kill you from the inside out.
Just as someone who's diagnosed with cancer or autism, or any other debilitating disorder didn't have a choice neither do we. We don't choose to be this way and no one in their right mind ever would.
We were born this way and most spend their childhood and adolescent years in struggles thought to be normal and just like cancer, it takes years for our illness to be given a "medical name", a diagnosis. One that has such a harsh ridiculed stigma and a failed, fragmented knowledge.
Society needs to wake the fuck up.
Do you want to know who's really weak? Those who pass judgement and call us "crazy" because they lack the strength and capacity to understand. They are the fucking cowards who would rather turn their backs instead of trying to help.
It's so much easier to conform to society than stand up and speak out for what nobody else is or does.
Everywhere you look you see ribbons and awareness, foundations, government funded assistance and support for almost every illness and disorder except mental illness. It's rarely spoken of and often avoided.
When do you ever see someone with a bracelet that dawns the green ribbon for bipolar and mental illness? How often do you see the pink, yellow, and rainbow ribbons? When their time in the awareness line approaches you see them everywhere like the latest fashion trend. In no way am I saying there shouldn't be awareness for these things because their should be.
What I'm stating are the obvious indications of a system that's flawed and a society that lacks knowledge because of this.
How many countless lives have to be lost before people wake up and educate themselves on the reasons why and become aware of the signs, symptoms and scientific facts?
Instead, those that chose to end their suffering are stamped with a stigma that evolves around anger, assumptions, judgements and misunderstandings.
Suicide is yet another reason people call those with mental illness weak.
"We give up." "We didn't try." "We were weak."
FUCKING BULLSHIT.
How many countless days, weeks, months or years do you think those who end their lives fought with every last breathe against a battle that would enfeeble and cripple anyone?
How many days do you think they stood with tears streaming down their face saying to themselves "Please, just one more day.. one more day?"
Yet if someone who was suffering from cancer decided to end their suffering there would be sympathy, empathy, and tender words. "They couldn't fight anymore."
Just because you can't see our illness doesn't mean it's not as devastating and painful. The vast majority don't know this because no one speaks of it. It's avoided like the homeless man who sits on the corner reeking of filth.
Yet you wonder why hope is lost in so many.
Drug addicts and alcoholics have endless resources and funded assistance for rehabilitation and treatment while the mentally ill only have short stints in the hospital and outpatient therapy that's a battle within itself to get insurance companies to cover. That's not enough and it's the short comings of this limited treatment that drive so many into the ground.
Drug addicts CHOSE to their drug of choice and alcoholics CHOSE to take their first drink and the many after but as for the mentally ill, WE DID NOT CHOOSE THIS. We can not change the faltered chemistry in our brains. WE WERE BORN THIS WAY.
Depression, Bipolar, PTSD, Schizophrenia.. all froms of mental illness that thousands, millions are facing and fighting every day. Fighting alone in silence and fear with limited help from a ignorant society.
Where's the assistance for the veterans who experienced and saw traumatic things defending a country who hands out checks to the millions who are functional and able to work but chose not to?
I'm saying these things from the front lines of this silent battle and from my endless research and outreach that's become a dead end from all angles.
I've been searching from months making countless calls only to be told
"I'm sorry we aren't excepting new patients for several months or at all,"
"I'm sorry I don't think your travels here would be beneficial"
and "We are a private pay facility and aren't or don't except insurance and the minimal cost of our program is $500/day and this does not include doctors and therapist fees or medications and additional charges."
After hearing this time and time again and watching the list of numbers to call and places to search nearing it's end how could you not lose hope? How could you not begin to give up?
I'm weak. I can barely function and every day has become a struggle that's harder than the last. I can't reach out because I don't have the strength to. No, I'm not fucking weak, I'm sick with an illness that's slowly been killing me for years. I'm sick and the only help that would give me any hope comes with costs that would leave me in mounds of debt the rest of my life.
Sure you can't put a price on life but you also can't pile crippling debt onto a already crippled person.
After hearing this time and time again and watching the list of numbers to call and places to search nearing it's end how could you not lose hope? How could you not begin to give up?
I'm weak. I can barely function and every day has become a struggle that's harder than the last. I can't reach out because I don't have the strength to. No, I'm not fucking weak, I'm sick with an illness that's slowly been killing me for years. I'm sick and the only help that would give me any hope comes with costs that would leave me in mounds of debt the rest of my life.
Sure you can't put a price on life but you also can't pile crippling debt onto a already crippled person.
How can I honestly have confidence or hope in treatment knowing that when I come out there's a debt that will leave me rendered just as helpless as I was before?
I'm at the end of the calling, the searching, crying, reaching, writing, screaming, praying road. I'm at the end no longer able to stand just to tell myself "one more day."
It's time for change. It's time to speak up for the countless that can't. Even in the end if I can't save myself at least I can have hope in leaving a large enough footprint in the muddy road I walked to spark the start of awareness and change for those who's footprints are continually covered by shame.
My feet may be small and my voice may be faint but my abilities of self expression scream with a force that will be heard.
