The Stigma has a Stigma
The Mental Health Stigma is Still Here
What we’re seeing in mental health posts on here is not the whole story. How do I know?I post about mental health on LinkedIn a little. You may have noticed. I get a behind the scenes look at advocating for mental health. And what you see is not what you get.
What do you mean, Aly?
I mean the stigma is still there and it’s almost like it’s taken on a new, more dangerous form.
It lurks in the shadows. It hides on the sidelines. And when no one except the advocate is watching, it attacks. So the advocate has nowhere to turn to talk about it or do anything about it. So I’m talking about it and doing something about it. As weird as it sounds it’s like the stigma itself has been stigmatized, but it’s stubborn. It’s sticking around, stomping on the mental health progress in the dark, like someone spray painting the city in the dead of the night. So they won’t get caught, but they’ll send the message.
I see a lot of posts about mental health and I know you see them too, where the author receives heaps of comments with accolades for being brave enough to share. And I’m glad. It is brave and the comments are real and they’re well-deserved. But they’re just not the whole story. I still get phone calls and messages with a slew of the opposite of accolades. I get warnings.
Don’t get me wrong. I get some great feedback, too, and some helpful constructive comments. And I’m not here to issue a stay at home order on the mental health celebration (the post 2020 “rain on the parade”). But let’s not get tricked into thinking that we’re done when we still have work to do. I still get warnings. If I still get warnings, that means other advocates get them, too. I get, “don’t post about mental health on LinkedIn because that’s where the employers look.” So I can advocate for mentally healthy workplaces but only after I make sure no employers will hear my words? Only after I’m sure no one will hear me so I can’t make a difference? If a mental health advocate falls down in the forest… does anyone hear?
“It’s not your job to fix the worlds mental health problems. It’s your job to get a job.”
But I want to help. I want it to be my job. And I will get a job, thank you very much. I will prove that we’ve come far enough that I can advocate for mental health on here freely without worrying about the ramifications to my legal career.
But until then, we’re not seeing the whole mental health story.