Do I post about my mental illness? Or about mental illness in general?

Hel.l yeah, I do. Dam.n straight!

I write things that are informative. I tell parts of my story. I ask for support. I advertise NAMI events and ask others to share those ads. I do not share my deep, personal shames in detail, but that doesn't mean I never mention hyper-sexuality or any of the other "big crazies" in any of my writings.

When I write about my bipolar or depression or mania, or another diagnosis I find interesting info on, I write carefully, professionally, informatively--and, yes, sometimes very intimately.

Have I always been this open? No. I have not. But I am now.You know why?

We talk about stigma, we talk about shame. Those potential employers and those parents of my kid's friends? They are part of the end of stigma. They are part of the end of shame.

And so am I.

Is it scary? Heck yeah. Does it worry me? A little. Am I treated differently? Sometimes. But not enough to make me stop. No. Not enough to make me stop. And that is simply because, to me, there is one question that is bigger than how I feel about what someone else thinks about me, one question bigger than that job I (thank God!) didn't get because their view of mental illness is screwy. And that question is:

How can we ever get ANYWHERE if we keep stigmatizing ourselves?

THAT SAID...

I have absolutely ZERO judgment for you if you do not feel comfortable posting about your own mental illness. You've got your life and I've got mine. But that question I asked above? I don't know how to answer it FOR ME... except by being open.