Breaking the Stigma
By Debbie
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mother’s Day just so happens to be in May as well, so I am going to share a story about my mom and the topic of mental health.
My mother is my personal Superhero, who’s superpower has been about fighting the stigma associated with mental health conditions. She does not suffer from depression; she lives with depression. She did not commit a suicidal act; she attempted suicide, and she has a lived experience with suicidal ideations throughout her life.
Language is so important when talking about mental health conditions. We will all go through some form of depression and anxiety throughout our lives, and some will experience it more intensely than others. If we have been given a diagnosis, it doesn’t mean that’s who we are. It means that is something we may struggle with and have to manage.
My mother attempted suicide when I was 17 and it shook me to my core, leaving me desperate for answers. She was in an out of mental institutions for several years after that. The stigma that my mother carried about her mental health conditions ran very deep. She believed that if she let anyone know that she was struggling, it would bring such shame to the family. That stigma trickled down the line to me, but I didn’t understand its severity until I did my own research, digging into what depression, suicidality, anxiety, shame, etc. was all about.
I volunteered for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) in my twenties, and it was the volunteer work that I did there that helped me break my own feelings of stigma towards seeking mental health resources for myself. Throughout my volunteering, I was noticing more and more that my anxiety and depression were increasing within me. Depression does have a genetic component, but it doesn’t mean it is completely hereditary. There were environmental factors and personal issues that came up for me as well. (I just so happened to be gay in a Christian family. That’s for a different blog though). Due to the work that I was doing with AFSP, I knew that it was important to seek therapy for help, which helped me through the struggles that I was facing personally.
I brought my mom to an Out of the Darkness Community Walk where she was able to see so many other people who were experiencing mental health issues just like her. She saw a 15-year-old girl speak about her mental health condition and how she has good days and bad days. Watching this young woman freely talk at a microphone about her life inspired my mom to learn how to talk about her experiences too. Eventually my mom joined me in speaking events within the community and she learned how to break the stigma she had carried for so long. She trained other volunteers to help teach the community about signs of depression and suicidality and inspired many with her story.
Due to other people sharing their stories openly with the community, my family was forever changed. My mother is my inspiration, and I am so proud of the work she has put into herself in breaking the stigma associated with depression and other mental health conditions.
I now am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist here at the Scott Hines Behavioral Health Clinic and I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t add some therapeutic flare: I wholeheartedly believe that the antidote to depression is connection. Get connected with the community. Volunteer in the community, come to The Center for its myriads of groups and events. Isolation and loneliness are fuel for depression.
For anyone experiencing symptoms of depression and would like to seek our services here at the clinic, we offer sessions on a sliding scale based on your income. For anyone 60+ with depression symptoms we offer up to 25 sessions Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, at no cost, if you qualify. To join our waitlist for therapy, please email Mike Martin at mmartin@thecentercv.org or call 760-281-2613.
For more information about American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: www.afsp.org
If you are needing immediate mental health assistance, text or call 988 for local resources.
Connection is our lifeline.
