I’ve survived episodes of major depression, mania and anxiety, but none of them changed my perception of the world as much as my three month battle with psychosis at the age of 18. All mental illness carries its own difficulties and stigmas, but I feel that there is a special sort of stigma that is created by psychosis. Whereas most mental illnesses are hidden, psychosis is in your face, impossible to overlook, unpredictable. It changes you and changes the people around you.

From a young age, promising athletes are instructed to show no fear, to be the toughest, fastest and most fearless competitors on the field. They are also told to never show weakness, whether it be physical or mental. And that fear of showing weakness, could be the culprit behind so many suicides and mental health issues in both professional and amateur sports.

Since the tragic suicide of Canadian teen Amanda Todd, and so many others before her, I have been pondering ways in which we as a society can help the teens of today who are victims of cyber-bullying. I was bullied in elementary school and high school.  But when I got off the bus at the end of the day, my bullies didn’t follow me into my bedroom.  They weren’t able to access me 24-hours a day through Facebook and other social media outlets.  Sure, it affected me greatly, but I at least was able to escape.

If you were once depressed and suffered symptoms of depression such as inability to concentrate, difficulty getting out of bed, irritability, low self-esteem and lessened joy in day-to-day activities, even when those symptoms disappear, you may continue to state that you still suffer from depression. When you are bogged down with the flu, you will be besieged by a number of symptoms. Sore throat, digestive difficulties, headache, nausea and nasal congestion. But once you treat the flu, and the symptoms disappear, you wouldn’t consider yourself as still suffering from the flu.

In order to combat something, one first must learn everything one can know about the subject at hand. Meaning, if we are to fight stigma, we need to know why it exists, what motivates its spread and what purpose it serves for those who endorse it.

I think it is important to remember that mental illness doesn’t need to be a life sentence.  If Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor can essentially re-train her brain to repair itself after a major stroke, we should all be able to re-train our brains in a way as to allow us to battle, and overcome, mental illness.

Of course, we all want teachers to know how to explain basic math, geography and English skills to our children. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could also offer up some wisdom on what common psychiatric disorders consist of, and how kids can better educate themselves on how to deal with them? Both in themselves and in their classmates?

Loving someone with a mental illness can be painful and confusing. For every person with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder or PTSD, there will almost always be someone in their lives who loves them. And it’s fair to say that the loved one's suffering is as real and true as the person with the mental illness.

There’s always been a double standard in mental health when it comes to schizophrenia. If you suffer from depression, are you a depressionist? Then why should a person who suffers from schizophrenia be a schizophrenic?

We need to stop the stigma of suicide to save lives. Otherwise, more people could buy a gun, put the barrel in their mouths and pull the trigger. Wrap a noose around their neck and push out the stool. Jump off a bridge into frigid water. Jump off of a building. Lay down on a train track. Purposefully inject themselves with a lethal dose of heroin. Take an entire bottle of certain prescription medications. There are tens of ways that people succeed at suicide every day.  But how often do you hear about the awful truth? We must talk about the suicide, suicidal ideation and ways to end them to save lives. If you are considering suicide, please call The National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255.