Category: stigma
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Living With Someone Who Is Mentally Ill: Interview with My Husband
I was approached by a friend of mine who offered up the suggestion on doing an interview series with family members on what their thoughts and feelings were concerning my Mental Illnesses. I have to admit, I had been toying with this idea for a long time and at this…
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When All You Can Do Is Blame Yourself For Your Daughter’s Diagnosis
I tried to hold my tears back as I stared into my daughter’s oceanic blue eyes. I could feel them welling up, feel the moisture increasing. Not here, not now, not in public, Stephanie. But, to be cliché, the dam was about to break. A tear or two escaped. My…
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Teaching My Daughter To Rise Above The Stigma Of Mental Illness
My daughter has seen me. She has seen me throughout her eleven years of life. She has seen me lose touch with reality several times, seen me cry uncontrollably many times, seen me at a handful of Psychiatric and Therapy appointments. She has even seen me become hospitalized. Throughout all…
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What Happens When A Dream Turns Into A Triggering Nightmare
Suddenly, I was back there. That place, both a saving grace and a hell. I was walking down the hall. Bare concrete block walls. Gray, solemn, just like the people that dwelled inside. Doorways on both sides leading to rooms with aging office waiting room furniture that was once comfortable…
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When False Information On A Meme Makes You Angry…
But we live in a society that believes Mental Illness is not on the same level as a Physical Illness.
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Hi, My Name Is Not “Sophia’s Mom”
I was not given the name “Sophia’s Mom” at birth. How would my parents know all those years ago that I would go on to have a beautiful daughter and name her Sophia. I am sure they had hopes and dreams for grandchildren, but exact details as the sex and…
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When I Learned To Accept My Depression Diagnosis
I am not a woman who hides her age. I will admit it, I am 37. I don’t look it and that is probably why I will fully cop to my actual age. I have a young (very young) face and I am short (incredibly short). Throw these two traits…
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I Support: My Response To Recent Events
I didn’t know what ‘white privilege’ was until I attended the Warrior Mom Conference in Boston, MA in July of 2015. I have been living in a suburban bubble for the last twenty plus years. Before that I grew up in the melting pot that is New York City. I…
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What My Daughter Knows
My daughter knows I hated her just two weeks after she was born. Pure hatred, where using the actual word ‘hate’ is valid and not taboo. She knows I wanted to leave her and never ever see her again. She knows I wanted to turn back time and never have…
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A Depressive’s Day Of Feeling Depressed… And What It Means…
Everyone has days where they feel sad, hopeless, empty. A day here and there when nothing seems to be going right. A day where getting out of bed is a struggle you don’t mind losing. The good news is most people, typical people, wake up the next morning and are…
S. Paige Writes: 