Thomas
Thomas
We should not have to carry the burden of stigma
Thomas knows a lot about the struggles people with mental health challenges face. He was diagnosed with manic depression at 16. At 20, he had difficulty facing the pressures of school and attempted to take his own life.
As an adult, he has worked in the health care field and been actively involved in mental health outreach organizations.
I was a junior in high school when I was diagnosed, and that was part of the devastation.
It came at a time when everyone is thinking about college, and it’s all very aspirational—but I was hospitalized for about a month.
Later, once I was in college, I felt like revving up, but I had to hold back. It felt very incapacitating.
With the support of his parents, he found a medication plan that keeps his condition under control. Importantly, he spent a year taking a vocational rehabilitation course.
The course helped him to focus on his life goals. He has since taken positions as a residential counselor and a tutor.
As someone who was diagnosed with a mental health condition many years ago, he started to wonder about what he has not disclosed, for fear of stigma.
So, has tried to learn more about the source of stigma and its effects on people with mental health disorders.
That’s why Thomas is a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness/Greater Boston Consumer Advocacy Network. He is specifically interested in investigating the problem of stigma and finding out ways that it is being alleviated.
I am very concerned about the issue of stigma of people with mental health challenges.
We should not have to carry the horrible burden of stigma as well as the burden of a disorder.
