The organization working towards ending stigma is

NAMI - National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

http:www.nami.org/ Once you are on their site look for Stigmabusters and sign up. They will notify you each time a violation comes to their attention and explain how to go about the letter writing campaign and who to mail the letters to. You will then receive updates on the results to date.

There is Stigma everywhere, even right on this forum. Just read on and see how we are refered to as LOONIES

[ February 26, 2006, 02:41 PM: Message edited by: suzieq ]

I wrote that website down. Thanks, suzieQ. I'm glad to hear you are writing everything down and will let your doctor know why you are leaving her. You are doing her a favor. I'm sure other patients have been taken aback by her unecessary, cruel comments.
Do your best "sleuthing" in finding the right doctor to suit your needs.
It's good to hear that your daughter has found a worthy cause to devote some time to.
When life gets a little stale it can cause many of us to have a bad outlook and lash out at others. It can come from our own unrest within ourselves. Lashing out at others is some folks way of easing their own tension. It doesn't make it right but that's the human condition. I try to back off from people like this because I can see they don't like themselves and are trying to draw me into their own bitter resentment. I've been there myself, so I know.
It's important to like yourself and to realize that each and every one of us has worth. We all have something we can give to each other but it isn't found in sarcasm, belittling and name calling to one another. It is found in gently listening to another person whether their beliefs are different from our own or not. It's found in accepting a person for who they are and not giving them ugly labels. I detest the word wacko. I think whoever made that word up should look in the mirror themselves.
Keep smiling and writing in your journal. Each day will bring you closer to the inner peace you crave. Think of your present situation as the mind's way of dealing with stress by taking its own detour around the rough spots. Your mind's peace will get back on the road when it feels the stones have been removed.

Ladybug, you hit on something important. We have to like ourselves. If we don't, how do we expect anyone else to have respect for us?

I just started receiving a new magazine called "BP"

http://www.bphope.com/index.php

It is full of positive reinforcement for those with Bipolar. Maybe it can help you, Suzieq? Click "Inside bp" and read the story about Patty Duke and how she's kicking stigma.

I already receive that magazine and active partake in the Pattyduke Blog for Bipolar Support that she set up and monitors.

[ February 24, 2006, 06:42 PM: Message edited by: suzieq ]

Learning to like myself was the best thing I ever did. And probably one of the hardest. I wish I could say I always do, but there are still days when I have to remind myself of my own worth. If I don't believe it, why should anyone else? Can you tell I had a bad patch last week?

I've already got the NAMI site bookmarked. I will go check out the place you mentioned.

Everyone makes mistakes and we have no right to judge each other. We also need to forgive ourselves for our mistakes otherwise we can never feel good about who we are. If we are able to forgive others for hurting us why do we beat ourselves up for our own mistakes?

Sexual abuse is such a hard thing to endure. My good friend is plagued by what happened to her as a toddler at the hands of a step grandfather. I have no doubt that some of her depression stems from this.

People who are true christians do not judge others. They donot spew false platitudes on people who have suffered.

When we admit we made a mistake then it's important to forgive ourselves and move on. It's true, we have got to like ourselves. It's true, if we don't like ourselves, others will not like us.
I'm very familiar with Patty Duke's story of her battles with depression.
In many cases of depression that I've encountered the depression was often caused by bad things people did to another person. The person with the depression didn't cause it.


Many so-called experts on mental illness agree that the brain is a very complex organ and it is almost impossible to understand the workings of it. They are not even certain how medications to treat depression work. If the "experts" aren't sure themselves, how can anyone else be expected to know with certainty? We are expected to trust our doctors to know and to treat us with the proper procedures. As we see, this isn't always the case and the person needing the right treatment suffers.

I went to nami.org and found information about the walks, but not the Stigmabusters. Help! I'd like to sign up.

I signed up so I hope I'm registered in the right place.

Going there to sign up as we speak. I'll let you know if I find it.

After spending my entire adult life in therapy, I learned a lot. Such as...I like more things about myself than just my hair. I like me(!) more days than not. How to avoid being beat up by someone else. Also, how to sleep at night instead of lying there beating myself up for all the things I did wrong. How to make a new plan, walk away while I still can, run, duck, and best of all to pick better friends. (Don't judge me by my relatives--please--but everyone judges me by the kind of people I call friends.)I learned to take care of myself and others in need of a helping hand. I learned that I am about a whole lot more than just sex. Sex should not hurt. I can say no. I can say no and mean it. I can say no with attitude. I can say no really loud. I can say no. I have the right to say no. The laws of this country I live in agree with me. I say no when I have to even when I want to say yes. I can put my needs first sometimes. I learned to say "I deserve(d) better than that". I learned I'm not alone. I also learned to smile with my whole self and not just my mouth. I learned to laugh--often. I learned to survive. I am a survivor. I am not always able to prevent myself from being a victim, but I do my best to not be a Victim. There is a difference. I learned to love. I learned to trust. I learned to live.