Simply admitting you need help is a huge first step towards mental health!
Margaret Trudeau (former wife of past Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) is speaking out about the stigma attached to mental illness. She's struggled with bipolar disorder for 35 years, and now has chosen sanity.
She was hospitalized three times for depression: once after giving birth to her first son, the second time after one son died, and the third time after her ex-husband Pierre died.
The stigma surrounding mental illness is pervasive! Movies, tv, books - all cast a shadow on disorders like depression, schizophrenia, anxiety. Last month, someone at a dinner party said, "I don't talk to crazy people," - making it difficult but necessary for me to share that my mom is schizophrenic.
Trudeau is encouraging Canadians to speak out openly about mental health, and take days off when they feel mentally unwell. Similar to taking a sick day, taking a "mental health day" would benefit everyone. Indeed, when I worked at an American school in Africa, we were allowed three personal days a year, which I loved taking! They were days to do nothing - it was great.
Going to a counselor also carries a great deal of stigma. It's embarrassing to admit we can't handle life alone, that we need professional help. Yet the objective, trained perspective of a counselor is invaluable in helping us see our own faulty thinking and fears about relationships.
Margaret Trudeau's goal is to take the stigma out of mental illness - and help people get mentally fit. Very cool!
