STOMP OUT THE STIGMA

“The newspapers, television, movies, advertisements, etc., use labels which perpetuate the stigma (negative attitudes) of mental illness.  Many of us are guilty of using those same words in our conversations with our co-workers, friends, relatives etc.” – Author Unknown

I find it offensive when people use words like ‘mental, retard, bi-polar etc.’ to try and make a point about another person’s behavior.  I’m bi-polar and until recently I did not understand what the illness was; I thought it meant – for a lack of better words- crazy.  But the reality is that I am not crazy, I have an illness just like a diabetic or a person with cancer.  Thus, when someone uses words like crazy, wacko, Schizo, mental case, etc…it hurts my feelings and it tells me that that person has not educated themselves on emotional disorders; educating people and yourself is the only way that this ‘stigma’ about mental illness will no longer exist.

The lives of people with mental health conditions are often plagued by stigma as well as discrimination.  Stigma is a negative stereotype.  Stigma is a reality for many people with a mental illness, and they report that how others judge them is one of their greatest barriers to a complete and satisfying life. – See more at: http://ontario.cmha.ca/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/stigma-and-discrimination/#sthash.hPcJtXY9.dpuf

Stigma comes from ignorance and fear; people often have a hard time grasping anything they do not understand or cannot predict.  I remember having the hardest time accepting my reality when my doctor had diagnosed me with Bi-Polar mood disorder.  It took me a long time to accept it and to not allow society or anyone to put me down about it; it was only then at that point in time when I accepted my illness and that I knew I could still have a fulfilling life.  However,  people that coincide with the stigma of  ‘mental illness’ build up barriers for themselves, and people who continue  to believe in the stigma further raise those barriers for those of us who are trying to knock it down.

When someone appears to be different than us, we may view him or her in a negative stereotyped manner. People who have identities that society values negatively are said to be stigmatized. Stigma is a reality for people with a mental illness, and they report that how others judge them is one of their greatest barriers to a complete and satisfying life. Society feels uncomfortable about mental illness. It is not seen like other illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. Due to inaccuracies and misunderstandings, people have been led to believe that an individual with a mental illness has a weak character or is inevitably dangerous. Mental illness can be called the invisible illness. Often, the only way to know whether someone has been diagnosed with a mental illness is if they tell you. The majority of the public is unaware of how many mentally ill people they know and encounter every day.

• One in five people in Ontario will experience a      mental illness at some point in his or her lifetime.
• Mental illness affects people of all ages, in all      kinds of jobs and at all educational levels.

http://mindyourmind.ca/help/facts-a-symptoms/stigma-and-mental-illness

My doctor told me that the most influential people in the world had some sort of illness; they gave and give us art, books, science, philosophy, laughter, history, music, etc…

300 famous people & celebrities who have suffered with mental illness or issues help highlight the stigma in our society

Below please find a list of 300 celebrities/famous people (alive and passed) who have or still suffer with mental health problems or illnesses. This is just a small collection of names of course, since one in four of us suffer with mental health problems at some point in our lives.  It is not to say that a celebrity is any more important than any other human being who has mental illness but they have the audience and fan bases to share their stories with…

celebrities with mental health issues	illness/disorder
Abbie Hoffman	bipolar disorder (speculated)
Abraham Lincoln	severe clinical depression
Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard)	bipolar
Adam Rickett	bulimia nervosa
Alanis Morissette	clinical depression
Alastair Campbell	depression
Albert Einstein	dyslexia (speculated)
Alexander Graham Bell	dyslexia
Alfred Taubman	dyslexia
Ally Sheedy	bulimia nervosa; substance abuse
Alma Powell	clinical depression
Alonzo Spellman	bipolar disorder
Alvin Ailey	bipolar disorder (aka “manic depression”)
Amy Heckerling	eating disorders; obsessive-compulsive disorder
Angelina Jolie	depression and self-harm
Anne Sexton	clinical depression
Ann-Margret	clinical depression; alcoholism
Art Buchwald	bipolar disorder
Audrey Hepburn	clinical depression; eating disorders
Axl Rose	bipolar disorder
Barbara Niven	bulimia nervosa
Barbra Streisand	social phobia
Ben Moody	depression
Ben Stiller	bipolar disorder
Ben Vereen	clinical depression
Benjamin Disraeli	clinical depression
Bert Yancey	bipolar disorder
Bill Lichtenstein	bipolar disorder
Bill Oddie	bipolar
Billy Joel	alcohol and depression
Billy Joel	clinical depression
Boris Yeltsin	clinical depression
Brian Wilson	bipolar disorder
Britney Spears	bipolar and post natal depression
Brooke Shields	postpartum depression
Burgess Meredith	bipolar disorder
Buzz Aldrin	clinical depression
Calvin Coolidge	clinical depression (speculated)
Carly Simon	social phobia
Carmen Miranda	clinical depression
Caroline Aherne	major depressive disorder
Carrie Fisher	bipolar disorder, substance abuse;
Cary Grant	clinical depression
Catherine zeta jones	bipolar II
Charles “Buddy” Bolden	schizophrenia
Charles Darwin	severe panic disorder
Charles Dickens	clinical depression; bipolar disorder (suspected)
Charles Faust	schizophrenia
Charles Schulz	clinical depression
Charles Schwab	dyslexia
Charley Pell	clinical depression
Charley Pride	bipolar disorder; alcoholism
Clara Bow	clinical depression
Cole Porter	clinical depression; alcoholism; paranoid delusions;   obsessive-compulsive disorder (speculated)
Connie Francis	clinical depression
Courtney Love	drug abuse, clinical depression
Craig Ferguson	alcoholic
Craig McCaw	dyslexia
Dame Kelly Holmes	depression and self-harm
Damon Wayans	clinical depression
Daniel Johns	clinical depression; anxiety disorder; eating disorder
Danny Glover	learning disability
Darryl Strawberry	clinical depression
David Boies	dyslexia
David Bowie	crying but not diagnosed but lots of family mental health issues
David Murdock	dyslexia
Delta Burke	depression and compulsive hoarding
Denise Welch	nervous breakdown
Diane Arbus	clinical depression
Dick Cavett	depression – found electro shock therapy helpful
Dick Clark	clinical depression
Dimitrius Underwood	bipolar disorder
DMX	bipolar
Dolly Parton	clinical depression
Donald Trump	possible OCD
Donny Osmond	clinical depression; social phobia
Dorothy Day	clinical depression
Doug Ferrari	borderline personality disorder
Doug Flutie, Jr.	autism
Drew Barrymore	clinical depression; alcoholism, substance abuse;
Drew Carey	clinical depression
Dwight Gooden	clinical depression
Earl Campbell	panic disorder
Edgar Allan Poe	clinical depression (speculated); alcoholism
Edward McVaney	dyslexia
Elizabeth Hartman	clinical depression (speculated)
Elton John	substance abuse and bulimia
Emily Carr	various speculations, neurasthenia; hypochondriasis; clinical   depression; conversion disorder; schizophrenia:
Emma Thompson	clinical depression
Eric Clapton	clinical depression
Ernest Hemingway	clinical depression
Eugene O’Neill	clinical depression
F. Scott Fitzgerald	clinical depression
Fiona Phillips	depression
Frances Lear	bipolar disorder;, substance abuse
Francis Ford Coppola	bipolar disorder
Frank Bruno	bipolar
Frank Lloyd Wright	clinical depression
Gaetano Donizetti	bipolar disorder
Gail Porter	post natal depression
George Eliot (Marian Evans)	clinical depression
George Michael	depression and fear
George S. Patton	clinical depression; dyslexia
George Washington	learning disability
Georgia O’Keeffe	clinical depression
Graeme Obree	depression
Halle Berry	suicide attempt
Harrison Ford	clinical depression
Harry Andersen	learning disability
Hart Crane	clinical depression; alcoholism
Heath Ledger	depression, anxiety and sleep depravation
Henry Winkler	learning disability
Herb McCauley	bulimia nervosa
Hermann Hesse	clinical depression
Herschel Walker	dissociative identity disorder
Howard Hughes	OCD (clinical depression and psychosis both speculated
Howard Stern	obsessive-compulsive disorder
Howie Mandel	obsessive-compulsive disorder
Hugh Laurie	depression
Hunter Tylo	clinical depression
Irving Berlin	clinical depression
Isaac Newton	bipolar disorder (suspected)
J.P. Morgan	bipolar disorder
Jack Dee	depression
Jack Farrell	clinical depression
Jack Irons	bipolar disorder
Jack Kerouac	clinical depression, substance abuse, severe alcoholism;
Jackson Pollock	clinical depression; substance abuse
Jaco Pastorius	bipolar disorder; alcoholism; substance abuse
James Dean Bradfield	bipolar
James Forrestal	clinical depression
James Garner	clinical depression
James Taylor	clinical depression; bipolar disorder
Jane Fonda	bulimia nervosa
Jane Pauley	bipolar
Janet Jackson	clinical depression
Jean-Claude Van Damme	bipolar disorder
Jessica Alba	OCD and eating disorder
Jessica Lange	clinical depression
Jim Carrey	clinical depression
Jimmy Piersall	bipolar disorder
Joan Rivers	clinical depression; bulimia nervosa
Joey Kramer	clinical depression
Joey Slinger	clinical depression
John Chambers	dyslexia
John Daly	bipolar disorder; alcoholism, gambling addiction;
John Forbes Nash	schizophrenia (paranoid-type)
John Gibson	bipolar disorder
John Kenneth Galbraith	clinical depression
John Madden	specific phobia (flying)
John Mulheren	bipolar disorder
John Nash	schizophrenia
John Quincy Adams	clinical depression
Jose Canseco	clinical depression
Joshua Logan	bipolar disorder
Judy Garland	clinical depression;, substance abuse
Jules Feiffer	clinical depression
Julie Krone	post-traumatic stress disorder; clinical depression
Justine Bateman	eating disorders
Karen Carpenter	anorexia nervosa
Karen Kain	clinical depression
Kate Millett	bipolar disorder
Katie Price/Jordan	post natal depression
Keisha Buchanan	depression
Kendall Gill	clinical depression
Kim Basinger	panic disorder
Kitty Dukakis	bipolar disorder, alcoholism; substance abuse;
Kris Kristopherson	clinical depression; substance abuse
Kristy McNichol	bipolar disorder
Kurt Cobain	attention deficit disorder and bipolar depression
Kurt Vonnegut	clinical depression/bipolar
Kylie Minogue	depression
Larry Flynt	bipolar disorder
Larry King	clinical depression
Lawton Chiles	clinical depression
Lenny Henry	depression
Leo Tolstoy	clinical depression; hypochondriasis; alcoholism; substance   abuse
Leonard Bernstein	clinical depression
Leonard Cohen	clinical depression
Lewis Preston	dyslexia
Linda Hamilton	bipolar disorder
Lionel Aldridge	schizophrenia (paranoid-type)
Lord Bragg	depression
Ludwig van Beethoven	bipolar disorder
Macy Gray	bipolar
Marc Summers	obsessive-compulsive disorder
Margaret Trudeau Kemper	bipolar disorder
Margaux Hemingway	dyslexia; alcoholism; clinical depression (speculated)
Margot Kidder	manic depression (Bipolar) and paranoia
Marie Osmond	clinical depression, post-partum
Marilyn Monroe	clinical depression/suicide
Mark Rothko	clinical depression
Marsha Linehan	bpd
Meg Mathews	depression
Megan Fox	??? She hasn’t been diagnosed
Mel C:	depression
Mel Gibson	bipolar
Melinda Messenger	depression
Meriwether Lewis	clinical depression
Michael Phelps	attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Mike Tyson	depression and severe insecurities and anger
Mike Wallace	clinical depression
Morrissey (S.P.)	clinical depression
Murray Pezim	bipolar disorder
Natalie Cole	clinical depression
Ned Beatty	bipolar disorder
Neil Lennon	depression
Neil Simon	clinical depression
Nelson Rockefeller	dyslexia
Nicole Kidman	panic attacks on the red carpet
Norman Mailer	clinical depression
Ozzy Osbourne	bipolar
Pablo Picasso	clinical depression
Pat Lafontaine	clinical depression
Patricia Cornwell	bipolar disorder, anorexia nervosa, anorexia bulimia;;
Patrick Kennedy	clinical depression
Patsy Palmer	depression and panic attacks
Patty Duke	bipolar disorder
Paul Gascoigne	clinical depression
Paul Simon	clinical depression
Paula Abdul	bulimia nervosa
Paula Deen	Agoraphobia and panic attacks
Pete Harnisch	clinical depression
Peter Gabriel	clinical depression
Peter Greene	schizophrenia
Phil Spector	clinical depression/bipolar
Pierre Péladeau	bipolar disorder
Princess Diana	Bulimia nevosa, depression and multiple suicide attempts
Queen Victoria	clinical depression
Ray Charles	clinical depression
Richard Branson	dyslexia
Richard Dreyfuss	clinical depression/bipolar
Richard Simmons	anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa;
Richey James	clinical depression, anorexia nervosa;;alcoholism
Rick Springfield	clinical depression
Ricky Williams	social phobia
Robbie Williams	depression
Robert Boorstin	bipolar disorder
Robert Campeau	bipolar disorder
Robert Lowell	bipolar disorder
Robert McFarlane	clinical depression
Robert Munsch	bipolar disorder
Robert Young	clinical depression; alcoholism
Robin Williams	clinical depression, learning disability;
Rod Steiger	clinical depression
Rodney Dangerfield	clinical depression
Roseanne	dissociative identity disorder (aka “multiple personality   disorder”); obsessive-compulsive disorder; clinical depression; agoraphobia
Rosemary Clooney	bipolar
Ruby Wax	depression
Russell Grant	depression
Sandra Dee	anorexia nervosa
Sarah Lancashire	depression
Sarah McLachlan	clinical depression
Scott Donie	clinical depression
Shayne Corson	panic attacks
Shecky Greene	bipolar disorder, with severe panic attacks
Sheryl Crow	clinical depression
Sigmund Freud	clinical depression
Sinead O’Connor	bipolar
Sir Anthony Hopkins	clinical depression
Sir Elton John	bulimia nervosa; substance abuse, alcoholism;
Sophie Anderton	drug addiction and depression
Spencer Tracy	clinical depression; alcoholism
Spike Milligan	bipolar disorder
Stephen Fry	bipolar depression
Steve Blass	social phobia
Steve Sax	social phobia
Sting (Gordon Sumner)	clinical depression
Susan Powter	clinical depression
Syd Barrett	schizophrenia
Sylvia Plath	clinical depression
Tammy Wynette	clinical depression, substance abuse;
Ted Turner	bipolar disorder
Tennessee Williams	clinical depression
Theodore Dreiser	clinical depression
Thomas Alva Edison	dyslexia
Thomas Eagleton	clinical depression
Tiberius	clinical depression (speculated)
Tipper Gore	clinical depression
Tom Cruise	dyslexia
Tony Slattery	bipolar
Tracey Gold	anorexia nervosa, attention deficit disorder;
Tracy Thompson	clinical depression
Trisha Goddard	depression
Tulisa’s mum	Tulisa’s mum had schizoaffective disorder
Uma Thurman	depression
Vaslav Nijinsky	schizophrenia
Veronica Lake	schizophrenia; alcoholism
Vincent Foster	clinical depression (speculated)
Vincent van Gogh	clinical depression; bipolar disorder (speculated)
Vivien Leigh	bipolar disorder after miscarriage
Walker Percy	clinical depression
Walt Disney	dyslexia
Whoopi Goldberg	dyslexia
William Hewlett	dyslexia
William Styron	clinical depression
Winona Ryder	clinical depression; anxiety
Winston Churchill	bipolar disorder; dyslexia
Woodrow Wilson	dyslexia
Yves Saint Laurent	clinical depression

http://amandagreenauthor.co.uk/300-famous-people-celebrities-who-have-suffered-with-mental-illness-or-issues-help-highlight-the-stigma-in-our-society/

LETS ALL HELP TO CREATE AWARENESS AND SENSITIVITY TOWARD MENTAL ILLNESS BY AVOIDING STIGMATIZING WORDS AND PHRASES!!!

❤ KIKI

Relax and take a moment to be kind to yourself!