Lived Experience Forum

[kristin]

Hi,

I love your monniker, it's excellent. 🙂

The teacher's behaviour was disgraceful - completely inappropriate and ignorant. Very hurtful too - sorry you had to hear it. Unfotunately this sort of attitude is quite prevalent.

It is hard enough dealing with the confronting issue of being on medication one's self, without other people adding their ignorance or spite to the mix.

Thanks so much for the link to the excellent article, I really appreciate it. It has very proactive suggestions on responding in ways that turn something very negative into a potential opportunity to educate others on mental health – and thereby hopefully grow societal compassion, or at least diminish the ignorance!

Kind regards,

Kristin

[Alessandra1992]

It is so heartening to hear Kenny that your nurses have always treated you well as in the past, this was not always the case! And I like how your fellow shoppers are friendly and interested in what you are doing. There are some people in the world who simply have no manners, and no regard for others. For if they did, they wouldn't be quite so quick to judge or to demean another person...I am not sure if was Jake or Kenny or Kristin but speaking up certainly is a really effective way of challenging people's language and underlying attitudes to difference in others. It is how we get sexism, racism, ageism and all the other isms people continue to create....speaking up and speaking out helps move social and community attitudes..and this forum is a great space for a start!

[kenny66]

It was Jake who talked about speaking up.

I am probably a bit soft when it comes to those things but I do have a go occasionally. As far as my  friend and I going out shopping its actually nice how the high school temps working on the checkout treat us. They show us which aisle to go for the stuff off our shopping list and as I said the shoppers themselves help us out. We have never been shortchanged with money and usually have great fun shopping even if we buy too many chocolates.

[Alessandra1992]

Hi Kenny, speaking up can be softly spoken...I think it is great that you have fun chatting with staff and fellow shoppers alike when you're grocery shopping.
I think sometimes when people say insensitive things, our definite silence can speak volumes too..it depends on the situation as to whether I speak up.
However, speaking up can be tricky if you are in the minority, if you are not feeling supported, it takes a bit of courage to speak the truth.

Some people don't like it, but some people also welcome a chance to talk mental health.

By questioning someone's words, we are just using reflective listening skills. Quite a powerful tool, really as we are being objective. Just reflecting back the other person's insensitive comment with a question of what do you mean exactly when you say that?

[kristin]

I think you're right, the less we need to take offense at what's been said and can question it fairly calmly the more likely people are to actually be able to hear some of what we are saying.

I keep telling people this on online forums where people get really very rude and insult each other about politics. Once insults start flying around no one is likely to be convinced of anything beyond the "otherness" of the "opposition" - no common ground is found and precious little education occurs. I know it's somewhat different but surprisingly many people say "thanks you're right". 

Cheers, Kristin

[BatGuano]

"A soft word turns away wrath."  I think its from the Bible.  Usually I just glare at the offender.

"I have a mental illness and I object to what you said."

Followed by "We walk among you.  Beware."

IDK.  Usually I don't say anything.  Water off a duck's back.

[nyxsong]

My first piece of advice is choose your battles, some people are worth 'confronting' over this sort of thing, others kind of fall into the "might as well beat my head against a brick wall" catagory.

I have found that rather than accusing or berating the person, encourage them to think about their words, and if they respond in a positive way then you have someone worth your effort, who may in fact become an advocate of people who have mental ill health, if their response makes you feel like they don't care about or are simply incapable of realsing the harm they are causing then let them wallow in their own crapunalence.

Lastly,( and if you ever master this please share how!), be aware that people will do and say upsetting things, no matter what the stigma is based on, there will always be stigma in our lives. We as individuals can't change the world's thinking all at once, but ripples are a beautiful thing. Change one person's mind, make them see or think in a new way and they will do the same for another, who in return does the same. Which leads me into my final piece of advice, choose your battles.

[Neb]

Okay, I live in the boonies, but I was surprised at the level of mental illness is shameful, embarrassing, and not to be talked about here. Dolally is the term for those with MH problems, it is regarded as possibly contagious. What really rocked me was how the hospital carried on....had a person admitted to the general hospital, and could not access the psych notes....it was like treating someone with a blindfold. The whole inpatient episode was a catastrophic farce I thought.