“Needing help to cope with your mental health issues is not a weakness.”

Share your stigma experience.     

When I was diagnosed with post-partum depression, I took my prescribed medication with no problems. It was temporary, and normalish. I was off meds within a year.

When, 2 years later, I was diagnosed with depression and prescribed meds, I filled the prescription but did not take the medication.

To me, at that time, taking medication meant I was just one short step from the ‘crazy house.’

It took me another 6 months to start taking my medication. By this time I had started making plans for suicide.

How did you overcome this experience?

Once I started taking my medication, I began to feel better. Suicidal ideations stopped, and I felt part of the world once again.

At this point, I slowly came to the realization that, just like my thyroid medication, I may have to take antidepressants for the rest of my life. But that it was ok.

Help others by sharing a brief, positive message.

Needing help to cope with your mental health issues is not a weakness. It is not taking the easy way out. It simply is.

Do what you need to do in order to be the most stable version of yourself that you can be.