After being asked the above question, I decided to blog it. That person also asked why I don’t give more information from the medical point of view. My reply, “I am neither a doctor nor a psychiatrist so any information I give can only be presented from a mother’s point of view. There is no straight answer as life is neither black nor white.
- I tell my story in the hope to help others understand.
- I tell my story to make it more difficult for people to close their eyes and their hearts to all the mental illness around them.
- I tell my story to gain empathy for all those people out there who are suffering from one kind of mental illness or another and to show them that they are not alone.
- I tell my story to try and convince people suffering from a mental illness that with early intervention and the correct treatment, their conditions can be improved.
- I tell my story to gain support for them. If they have the backing of their community and family, they have the chance of life with a purpose surrounded by love.
- If we all tell our stories, maybe some of the people out there will listen, believe, and even act on our behalf.
- No politician truly believes that he/she will gain extra votes by devoting more time to the issue of mental illness, but maybe … that time is now.
- I tell my story, the story of one family, but it is also the story of millions of families living with a mentally ill relative anywhere from Africa to Alaska.
- I tell my story in the hope that one day, there will be far less stigma associated with mental illness.
