Link: Crazy does not equal . . .
I am never going to catch up on all the shit I want to post, but even though I can't really offer as much commentary on this as I would like, I do want to make sure everyone gets a chance to see these two Shakesville posts:
Crazy Does Not Equal Violent
Crazy Does Not Equal Stupid
I don't think it's possible to cram enough "fuck yes" in a comment to do justice to either of those.
The fear that, because I am bipolar, I will one day have medical treatment withheld from or forced upon me because the person with control over my medical care believes that I am not capable of making those decisions for myself is literally the most terrifying external part of having this condition.
That fear is what kept me from seeking treatment for so long, and is what keeps me awake at night sometimes, worrying that I will someday find myself in a situation where I am held captive by someone else's ideas of what I am.
I'm with DesertRose when she says "the only way the stigma is ever going to go away is if people with mental illnesses speak out and let it be known that crazy does not equal violent, or stupid, or weak, or flawed in character . . . etc, etc, ad infinitem. The only way society will ever change is if people speak up."
Right on. I speak up because I don't really know how to hide this part of myself. I speak up because for me, there isn't really any other option. I hope that by doing so, I help in some tiny way to diminish the stigma against others like me, but I will be honest here and say that's only 50% of why I do it. The rest is knowing I have shitty camouflage, and deciding that the only thing to do is make the most of my unwilling visibility. So I don't so much expect congratulations for daring to be visible -- the more I think about it, the more I realize I don't have a choice in the matter.
Anyway, the problem with all this is that, until society does start pulling its head out of its ass, that leaves people like me who are speaking out in the hopes of creating change very vulnerable to the same problems and prejudices we are hoping to diminish.
This is how it is, how it has to be so that things can change, but I don't like it at all, and it means that no matter how much hope I feel for others in the future, I don't feel a whole lot for people today.
Crazy Does Not Equal Violent
Crazy Does Not Equal Stupid
I don't think it's possible to cram enough "fuck yes" in a comment to do justice to either of those.
The fear that, because I am bipolar, I will one day have medical treatment withheld from or forced upon me because the person with control over my medical care believes that I am not capable of making those decisions for myself is literally the most terrifying external part of having this condition.
That fear is what kept me from seeking treatment for so long, and is what keeps me awake at night sometimes, worrying that I will someday find myself in a situation where I am held captive by someone else's ideas of what I am.
I'm with DesertRose when she says "the only way the stigma is ever going to go away is if people with mental illnesses speak out and let it be known that crazy does not equal violent, or stupid, or weak, or flawed in character . . . etc, etc, ad infinitem. The only way society will ever change is if people speak up."
Right on. I speak up because I don't really know how to hide this part of myself. I speak up because for me, there isn't really any other option. I hope that by doing so, I help in some tiny way to diminish the stigma against others like me, but I will be honest here and say that's only 50% of why I do it. The rest is knowing I have shitty camouflage, and deciding that the only thing to do is make the most of my unwilling visibility. So I don't so much expect congratulations for daring to be visible -- the more I think about it, the more I realize I don't have a choice in the matter.
Anyway, the problem with all this is that, until society does start pulling its head out of its ass, that leaves people like me who are speaking out in the hopes of creating change very vulnerable to the same problems and prejudices we are hoping to diminish.
This is how it is, how it has to be so that things can change, but I don't like it at all, and it means that no matter how much hope I feel for others in the future, I don't feel a whole lot for people today.