Let me pull off the band-aid:
- I have been on anti-depressants twice in my life. Once was a decade ago. Once is right now.
- My therapist asked me to get a psychiatric evaluation to see if I suffer from bipolar disorder. (I don’t, according to the psychiatrist, but the evaluation was scary).
The reason I am sharing this with 80,000 people is that we NEED to learn how to talk about mental health.
When we don’t talk about mental health:
- We don’t seek the help we need.
- We aren’t honest with the professionals that can help us.
- We get a false sense that only “crazy” people get help. (Yes, I know that is a pejorative – that is my point!).
The second point was driven home in an interview I did with a New York Times bestselling author who struggles with schizophrenia.
Esmé Weijun Wang talked about her family not wanting to talk about mental illness.
When Esmé was being evaluated for mental illness, the psychiatrist asked her mother if there was any history of mental illness in the family.
Her mother said “no.”
It wasn’t true. The family had a deep and varied history of mental health issues (including her mother).
When Esmé asked her mother why she hadn’t shared that with the psychiatrist, her mother said, “It is none of his business.”
The shame and stigma were too great.
The whole interview is fantastic.
Esmé discusses what it feels like to experience hallucination and delusions.
If you want to watch it, the link is below.
Until next week, take care of the people you care about (including yourself!)
Peace,
Ryan
p.s. If you want to watch the interview with Esmé:
If your organization is a member, you can watch it on NicheAcademy.
If your organization is not a member you can watch it on our website: https://homelesstraining.com/expertinterviews