Stop Self-Stigma? It's Difficult to Do But You Can

Recognizing the only ones we can truly charge are ourselves, it seems it shouldn't be so difficult to stop self-stigma. On the contrary, though, it can be very challenging. If you are having trouble putting an end to mental health self-stigma, don't worry. It's not just you.

What It's Like to Struggle to Stop Self-Stigma

When it comes to mental health stigma, I believe our focus should be to minimize its effects on us as individuals. We may never be able to fully eliminate mental health stigma, but in changing how it impacts us, it and those who spread it lose power.

It's a heck of a lot easier to do this with outsiders than it is my own mind.

I regularly struggle to stop self-stigma. It's a discordance wherein the rational part of me butts up against the lies of stigma. It becomes a game of self-doubt that's hard to shake.

• What if stigma is right and I should be strong?
• What if stigma is right and this is somehow for attention?
• What if stigma is right and I can't talk about this?

No matter how much information and how many facts I have stored in my head, they're dwarfed by the lies. The fact that mental illness originates in the brain and isn't my fault is inconsequential during those times. The fact that struggles are valid doesn't even make a blip. It all gets overshadowed by the beast that is stigma, turned inward to transform into self-stigma. In those moments, none of the facts feel true for me.

You see, I struggle to believe that the words I tell others actually apply to me, too.

Why It's So Difficult to Stop Self-Stigma

The biggest challenge with self-stigma is we can't escape our own minds. Even with reshaping how we think about and understand mental health, surmounting self-stigma can be difficult because it's a constant back and forth of fact versus lie that's hard to stop and silence. The cognitive dissonance can resonate loudly, in particular when mental illness's symptoms are strong. Then it's a coupled onslaught of stigma and the illness's lies with which we must contend.

You're not the only one struggling if you're feeling this, too. In fact, if you can relate to any of what I've written here, it's proof that you're not alone. Stigma and mental illness like to tell us that we're alone, but it's not true.

It's not just me. It's not just you.

It's difficult to do, but we have to continue to challenge and push back against the self-stigma.

See Also

• "A Guide to Overcoming Self-Stigma"