The idea that a mental health disorder makes you less of a person is pretty deplorable. And sadly, it’s also a rather common mind set.
And it hurts those who are victims of it.
This is, of course, what stigma is, this very idea. And to say that it’s hurtful is a huge understatement.
And the victims of stigma are everywhere. Some are easy to spot if you look, some are not so easy to see. And some of them are down right surprising.
The truth is that the application of stigmatizing socially behavior is actually a form of blindness. And it isn’t a blindness that applies to those you actively judge, it could not be perpetrated without the assistance of those who choose not to see the truth of stigmatization.
The great thing is that once you start to look, you become part of the solution.