Could you imagine someone touching you on the back and it sends

you into a flashback of a memory so horrific that you go into a hypervigilant

outburst? What if you lived life so dreadful and fatigued, yet extremely

restless, thus driving you into a deeper, darker hole? Could you visualize

yourself so worked up and worried about something that it sends you into a

delirium that you’re unable to get out of? Would you be able to cope with the

taunting of voices in your head that no one else but you could hear? What if

you didn’t understand if you were living in a reality or fantasy? How scared

would you be? Who would you have to talk to if everyone, including you, feared

you?

One of every five Americans struggle with a mental illness each

year, yet three of every four with this malady has experienced isolation and

besmirchment of some sort. Basically, three of four people already struggling

with something that they can’t control have been kicked while already down. We

often live life with a, “this doesn’t affect me so I don’t care” attitude thus

leaving the fragile incapable of feeling secure to express themselves. Stigma

is like duck-tape for those trying to scream for help. If everybody had a

connection to someone with a disorder or understanding of it, would this stigma

finally be broken?

Walking in a grocery store, you would never know what kind of

battle someone is currently fighting. Mental illness is not funny or something

to taunt someone with. Branding someone with a disorder as looking or acting

“crazy” or “psycho” will only make things worse. Instead, by saying hello or

asking how their day was will possibly shine light on a really dark day. It

won’t ever hurt to speak to a stranger who looks as if they’re fighting a

losing fight.

What if it were you?

Psalm 30:2 LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.

Sincerely,

A Psychiatric Survivor