I find this extraordinarily moving. And it summarizes the loss that mental illness is in one death. Here is the link: http://huff.to/1rNcEOD Kenny Baker was a son. He was loved. He was a "hard worker and good athlete". He had friends and and even a girlfriend. He wanted to be an engineer who designs cars. He had dreams. He had loving and concerned parents. He also had anxiety and depression. And he is now dead. He died by suicide. A life left way too soon. Much left to do. Never to be completed because he was destroyed by a biochemical monster. Kenny's family is left with the loss. His mother, Tricia Baker, is using her grief to advocate. She wants to advocate for those with mental illness. Like she tried to do for her son. Before his life was stolen by his illness.
Mental illness is extraordinarily powerful. It changes lives. It creates holes where there ought to be joy and life. It creates pain. It isn't about weakness. The people who live with mental illness come from a variety of life circumstances. They come from a wide-range of families. It isn't a class thing. Having a mental illness doesn't make a person 'bad'. It doesn't mean that someone is stupid or incapable. It strikes those that are talented. Look at the people who have dealt with it....Robin Williams and Ernest Hemingway are two notable examples. If we are honest, mental illness strikes US. All of us. Most families can identify someone who has lived with the struggle. It isn't about a faceless 'them'.
So, what is stigma about? I think it is a hatred of ourselves. Of what we view as our weaknesses. It is what I think is at the core of many of our "ism's" from racism to sexism to...on and on The denial of our common humanity. But blaming something on some 'other' doesn't make it go away. We are still human. And we are more alike than we are willing to admit. The human experience is the human experience. We need to deal with the reality of the illness in order to cope with it. Kenny Baker felt he had to hide his illness. I look forward to a day when someone else's son or daughter can find love, help, and support while living with mental illness. I look forward to the day that finding help isn't a struggle. I look forward to the day when we can save our children. And the pain that Kevin Baker's family continues to feel becomes less and less common. We can do this. If we are honest and work together. Join me?
Mental illness is extraordinarily powerful. It changes lives. It creates holes where there ought to be joy and life. It creates pain. It isn't about weakness. The people who live with mental illness come from a variety of life circumstances. They come from a wide-range of families. It isn't a class thing. Having a mental illness doesn't make a person 'bad'. It doesn't mean that someone is stupid or incapable. It strikes those that are talented. Look at the people who have dealt with it....Robin Williams and Ernest Hemingway are two notable examples. If we are honest, mental illness strikes US. All of us. Most families can identify someone who has lived with the struggle. It isn't about a faceless 'them'.
So, what is stigma about? I think it is a hatred of ourselves. Of what we view as our weaknesses. It is what I think is at the core of many of our "ism's" from racism to sexism to...on and on The denial of our common humanity. But blaming something on some 'other' doesn't make it go away. We are still human. And we are more alike than we are willing to admit. The human experience is the human experience. We need to deal with the reality of the illness in order to cope with it. Kenny Baker felt he had to hide his illness. I look forward to a day when someone else's son or daughter can find love, help, and support while living with mental illness. I look forward to the day that finding help isn't a struggle. I look forward to the day when we can save our children. And the pain that Kevin Baker's family continues to feel becomes less and less common. We can do this. If we are honest and work together. Join me?
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