As you may know, today is World Mental Health Day. This is an event organized by the World Health Organization that occurs every year on October 10th. The goal of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues globally and support those living with and fighting against mental illness. A large focus of the day involves the presence of stigma surrounding conversations around mental health and mental illness. When we allow misconceptions and misunderstandings to make us shame others or feel shame for talking about our mental health, it serves only to worsen the problem.
Mental illness is not a small problem. Approximately 20% of Americans will have a diagnosable mental illness each year, which comes out to 1 in every 5 people. Whether you are diagnosed yourself or know of a family member or friend who is struggling, mental illness will impact everyone directly or indirectly at some point in their lives. If you don’t think you know anyone with mental health concerns, statistically there is a very high chance that you are wrong.
Photo from Superior Mental Health Organization
Considering how prevalent mental illness is, it would make sense for people to talk openly about their experiences without shame. Unfortunately, the stigma surrounding these issues means that many people will suffer in silence. When we blame people for their illnesses, or view it as a choice or something they can control it makes them that much less likely to seek help. There are so many misconceptions around mental health, and it is a relatively taboo topic in our society. The situation has improved a bit over the last several years with the increase in mental health activism and awareness, but there is still a long ways to go.
Nobody should feel shame for something that is out of their control. Mental illness is not a personal failure or a sign of weakness. You do not need to feel like you are less than or inferior, simply because of a diagnosis. There is nothing shameful about being diagnosed, asking for help, going to therapy, taking medication, or doing anything else that is necessary for your own wellbeing. If you are not struggling with mental health, but know someone who is you should do what you can to support them without shaming them.
Photo from Healthyplace.com
I received my first diagnosis during a hospital admission in 2013, and I did all I could to keep people at school from knowing where I had been. I was ashamed and embarrassed of what I believed to be a personal weakness. Over time though, I began to speak up about what I was going through. I was frustrated with society and the healthcare system for the way that mental health was treated. Telling my story and opening up about my own struggles was the beginning of my journey into mental health advocacy. I was scared to let anyone know about that intimate aspect of my life, but when I did it was absolutely freeing. I was able to shed the shame I had felt and turn it into a feeling of empowerment. I have mental illness, but mental illness does not have me.
Recently, I came across the instagram page @projectidefineme which featured photos of a diverse range of people wearing a white shirt with blue letters across the front. The project was seeking to show the world that there was more to us than our diagnoses. It gave people with mental illness a way to empower themselves and advocate for better awareness and understanding of mental health. It is a project that began just six months ago and has grown quickly, with participants and supporters from around the world.
In an instagram post shared today they wrote, “As of today, 80 people have decided that they’re no longer satisfied with saying we need to destigmatize mental illness– they’re actually doing it, by being a part of this project. They’re offering their faces, their diagnoses, and their stories to tell the world what it’s really like to have a mental illness. They’re sharing who they are to redefine the associations made with mental illness.They’re saying ‘my mental illness does not define me. I define me.'”
I am proud to have been one of the eighty people referenced in this post. A few months ago, I submitted a photo of myself along with a small part of my story. I shared my diagnoses, but more importantly I shared some of the things that I love and which I choose to define myself by. Seeing my photo alongside that of so many other brave individuals was a powerful moment. I chose to participate in this project because I truly believe that the only way that we can eliminate the stigma is to speak out against it. By telling our stories, and showing who we are apart from our diagnoses, we are able to humanize mental illness and make it a more approachable topic.
Photo from Project I Define Me
Today I messaged Pooja Mehta (pictured below), the creator of the project, to ask if she would be interested in being a part of this article. We exchanged a few messages, and I asked her several questions about mental health and her own struggles against stigma.
Photo from Project I Define Me
Q: What inspired you to start Project I Define Me?
A: “The stigma surrounding mental illness is, in my opinion, due to the generalizations we as a society make about mental illness. People with mental illnesses are seen as only their mental illness, and mental illness is associated with vagrancy and crime. I started Project I Define Me to change that. People with Mental Illness are people, with stories, features and aspirations that go way beyond their diagnosis–and its time the world saw that.”
Q: What are your own experiences with mental health and the stigma around it?
A: “As an Indian American woman with mental illnesses, I’ve faced my fair share of stigma. My experience has spanned everything from “just get over it,” to being denied study abroad programs and jobs because of my “inability to keep up.” But every experience with stigma is another opportunity to educate, fight, and change outcomes for people with mental illnesses in the future.”
Q: Why do you think it’s important to talk about these things?
A: “Fear is a product of ignorance, and ignorance is sustained in silence. The more we talk about these things, the more we normalize it, and the more we are, as a society, able to see people with mental illnesses for who they are–people. ”
Q:What is something you would tell people who are struggling in silence because they are afraid to speak up and ask for help?
A: “People cannot stigmatize you if you do not let them. If you are afraid of people saying you are incapable or weak or less than because of your mental illness, SHOW them you are not. You are not successful DESPITE having a mental illness. You are successful AND you have a mental illness. The two are not mutually exclusive, and you owe it to yourself to remind people of that.”
Q: How can people get involved/support the project?
A: “To get involved, email projectidefineme@gmail.com, and I’ll get you all set up! Even if you don’t have a mental illness, you can still support the cause by donating to our GoFundMe–we’re in the process of raising $2500 to cover startup and non-profit fees, and every little bit helps!”
To get involved in Project I Define Me and help break down the stigma around mental health, check out their instagram, website, or GoFundMe.