Stigma and Mental Illness

This article carries a Trigger Warning for discussion of stigmatisation of disabled people, violence toward and murder of children and disabled people, and use of pathologising language.

This past week in Australia an 11 year old boy was violently killed by his father. The story made the news on every tv channel, I think.


I am not going to go into details or try to examine the particulars of the case. Aside from the fact it would be incredibly disrespectful to the boys mother and extended family, it is simply not my place to speculate about what happened or the events that led up to Lukes tragic death. 

Click to go to Neurocomopolitanism 

The reason I mention the story is because it is the most recent in a long list of tragedies the media jump on and blame on "mental illness"*. In fact, today if you google "mental illness killed" the situation I refer to will show up as 3 of the top 6 hits.  

This really bothers me. 


I am not going to argue about whether this man had a mental illness. How would I know? 

I am not going to argue that mental illness had no part in the story, either. I have no first hand knowledge of the situation. 

The only thing I am going to argue in relation to this case is that I do not believe the media needs to, or should, assign blame to mental illness when they report horrific stories like this.  Why? 

Are you familiar with the term stigma? 

stigma 

 noun

shame, disgrace, dishonour; stain, taint, blot, blot on one's escutcheon, blemish, brand, mark, slur

How about stigmatise?

stigmatise

verb

CONDEMN, denounce; brand, label, mark out; disparage, vilify, pillory, pour scorn on, cast a slur on, defame, discredit.

There are lots of things that people can be stigmatised for. Some stigma is quite subtle, falling into the "label" category, some more obvious and in the "denounce" category and some really noticeable and easy to see as vilification. 

Let's look at an example. Here's a theoretical conversation with someone who is just meeting my Wonderful Hubby. Note that it is only theoretical because this exact combination of phrases has never happened all in one conversation before.... this is, however, a collection of real conversations all put together, so less theoretical than it could be, I suppose. Here we go. 

Mr Jones (sorry all you Jones' out there, but I had to choose something): Hi, I'm James.

Wonderful Hubby: Hi I'm D. This is my wife Michelle. 

(so far so good..... white, middle class appearing, male presenting person with male sounding name married to white female presenting person with female sounding name......  )

MrJ: (jumping right into it with a safe topic) Do you guys have any kids?

WH: Yes. We have 6.

MrJ: Wow!! You do know what causes that, right? Don't you have a tv? Good Catholics, hey? You guys must be crazy! Hats off to you guys- you must be run ragged! (yes, we've had all these said to us, and more)  Well, at least you get a break at work I guess..... what do you do?

WH: I'm a nurse.

MrJ: Oh. So you're a male nurse? I guess that would be interesting. And shift work would keep you busy...

WH:  I work part time, so it's not overwhelming.

MrJ: Only part time, eh? Lucky you. Man of leisure half the week then?

WH: I guess. I spend the rest of the week helping at home... cooking, looking after the baby, getting the kids off to school while Michelle works. 

MrJ: So, a house husband! ....

You get the idea. And we haven't even broached the topic of Bipolar yet!! 

This might seem like no big deal. The guys intention wasn't to be offensive. He was just surprised, right? But ask yourself why he was surprised. It's because my Hubby, even though he looks pretty mainstream by visual appearance, is in a number of minority groups. And people generally don't like or understand people in groups they aren't in. So, while the examples I've given above are mostly stigma that falls in the labels category, they are examples that are evidence of a widespread and systemic stigmatisation that is in action in our society. 

Let's move on to an example that is closer to the vilification end of the stigmatisation scale. Here's what someone said to my Hubby, a few years back,  when he told them he had recently been diagnosed Bipolar:

"oh, your poor wife"

And this is what I'm talking about when I say the media has no place citing mental illness as a reason for violent behaviour and crime. 

The reason people feel sorry for *me* when they find out my husband is Bipolar is that they don't know anything about Bipolar other than it is a "mental illness" that causes people to be violent. They know this because the media tells them and they don't realise that there are non-violent people with mental illness all around them who just don't tell anyone about their diagnosis because they want to avoid being stigmatised. 

Really. There are people all around you who have mental illnesses. They are doctors and nurses, teachers, ambulance officers, cleaners, professors, journalists, pilots, executives, actors, sportspeople ..... good parents......  all living with mental illnesses. Some of them go to therapy often in order to keep functioning in a way that is perceived as normal. Others take medications (which, by the way have some awful side effects- but that is a separate article to be dealt with at another time) to achieve that. 

Let's look at some statistics. There have been numerous studies done over the years looking at the correlation between mental illness and violence.

In a 1999 article by Taylor and Gunn, in the British Journal of Psychiatry it was found that  

{ you can read the whole article here if you are interested

My summary- as time goes on people with mental illness have contributed less to the overall number of homicides. 

The article "Violence and Mental Illness" { read here } says,
"People who have mental illnesses very rarely make the news. The overwhelming majority even those with severe disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder want only to live in dignity, free from the suffering brought by their illnesses. ........
"Recent research has shown, that the vast majority of people who are violent do not suffer from mental illnesses. "
...... and then goes on to talk about the fact that there are many situations and circumstances that effect and induce violent behaviour. 

So, why do news outlets lead with the line "Father with mental illness kills son"? Why are people with mental illness over represented in the stories we hear on the news? 
Well, basically, they do it because it sells. 
People want to hear that story. It gets ratings. They do it because the public wants to hear it.  And for that we should all be ashamed.  We are encouraging the media to help perpetuate the stigma against people with mental illness. 

There is another issue involved here too. If we vilify adults who have mental illness (which includes mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders and other diagnoses like communication disorders, pervasive developmental disorders - Autism is in this category, and tic disorders) it becomes easy to associate the disorders with negative implications, even in children. If adults with a certain diagnosis are violent, then children with the same diagnosis will be violent too. If adults with a certain diagnosis are prone to explosive outbursts then children with the same diagnosis will be too. If adults with a certain diagnosis are difficult to live with then children with the same diagnosis will be as well. 

And so society moves down the slippery slope of assumption until it reaches the point where vilifying children based on a diagnosis is acceptable. 

This is where things get really horrifying. We see parents with disabled children who are finding it hard to cope and consequently harming their children, attempting to take their children's lives .... and succeeding .....  and our media reports like this: "He's going to be missed. He was a very good guy. He was always fun to get in a conversation. He was up on everything. He was well liked."  about the murderer, who killed himself after killing his son. And like this:"The nature of Mickey Liposchok's disability wasn't entirely clear, but Chief Myers said he was born with the condition. Several people who knew the family said he was unable to care for himself."  about the victim. Yes, in the entire full page article, that is all that was said about the victim. {I am reluctant to give the source of these quotes more traffic, but feel I need to in order to give proper credit, so if you want to look it is here } In this instance the victim was a 52 year old man. 

Unfortunately the victims of these crimes are not only disabled adults. In the past year there have been numerous instances of parents harming and killing their young children as well. The common theme in all the news reports of these awful crimes is one of understanding for the criminal because they had it so hard caring for a disabled child. We are told the child was aggressive, the child required full time supervision, the child was non-verbal, the parent wasn't getting enough support..... the list goes on.... but always justifies the perpetrators actions by saying how hard their life was. 

And the general public accepts this story without batting an eyelid because they have already been primed to believe that disability is bad. 

While ever we sit quietly by and listen to this discourse, we are complicit in the murders of innocent people. 

While ever we sit silently and fail to question the assumption that mental illness or disability is the cause of violence we support the media in their continued assault against people like my husband and my children, who just want to do what they need to - and receive the supports they require - to live their lives as productive and happy members of society. 

Are you happy to be part of the continued stigmatisation? 

January photo challenge complete!

Well, there goes January! 

The kids were on their summer school holidays, so it was a lovely relaxing month.  Sleeping in. Playing. Bush walks. New chicks to look after. Interesting outings. Time for organising. 

Do you remember that I was planning to live more intentionally this year? 
This month I nailed wearing flowers in my hair!!   
I made a start on walking more. 
I  tried to remember to challenge negative thoughts and not get stuck thinking on things that were troubling me if there was nothing I could do about it then and there. Not that I was ignoring things that needed my attention, just not playing them over and over in my mind when there was no point. 
I also made an effort to rest when I could, which was not too hard as we weren't keeping to our school term routine. 





As I have been reflecting on how I feel about this new photo challenge, I realise that last year as I did one set by someone else I found it more fun than anything. Doing my own challenge is ...... well, ....... challenging. I find the "I'm proud of" prompt the hardest every week. I hope over the course of the year it will become easier to say what I am proud of, as I feel it is part of becoming more confident to be myself. 

So, on to February. Will you join me? All the details are on the Facebook page, and in the January 2014 archive section of this blog. 

What I would change about my children….. or …..The way I speak about my children matters

I saw an online conversation this week in which the question was posed- what would you change about your children? (my paraphrase) As I interpreted it, the person asking was implying that Autism was something that could be removed from a child and they were giving the participants in the conversation permission to list the things they didn’t like about their child. It made me uncomfortable in a lot of ways and for a lot of reasons, and really got me thinking. 

So, what would I change about my children? 

Honestly? 

Nothing. 

Now, before anyone decides I am being overly positive, unrealistic, delusional or just plain lying…. hear me out. 

Of course there are pains I see my kids experience and my mother heart hurts with them.

Of course there are times I can see things would be so much easier for them if they would just……  

Of course sometimes I hold my breath and hope hope hope they will make a better choice this time because it would be so much easier on them if they did. 

Of course they have attended OT and Speech Therapy to develop necessary skills and they receive ongoing Psychological support, one of my daughters wears glasses, and we do whatever we can to provide appropriate supports for all of them to help them reach their goals and achieve their dreams. 

But I would not change anything about any of my kids. Not the Autistic ones. Not the Bipolar one. Not the one who has Sensory Processing Disorder. Not the ones who have no diagnoses. 

I would not change my kids at all. 

I would not always have said this. But it is true now. 

I used to wish my kids were more compliant. Until I read about how children who are taught unquestioning compliance are easy targets for abusers. 

I used to wish my kids were more tidy. Until I realised that learning to care for your own possessions is a process and if they skipped that process by just becoming tidy out of fear of my wrath they wouldn’t be learning to value things and creating ways of caring for their things that work for them. 

I used to wish my kids didn’t “talk back” to me so much. And by “talk back” I mean question why they need to do things that I ask them too. I used to call this behaviour “defiant”. It was an inconvenience to me because I had to think things through if I was to give them an honest answer, which took time and energy. And besides, they are the kids and I know better. Right? Then I realised that the same way of thinking and temperament that caused them to question me might feel defiant now, but was actually a sign of the ability to think critically and as they grew older it would be called assertiveness and “out of the box thinking” and it would be a good thing. 

My second son has been at the short end of the height range for his age for his whole life. But I don’t hate his shortness, or complain about it to my friends or discuss with him things he can do to make himself taller. I just pass him the stool when he needs it. And if he tells me people tease him for being short I remind him that those kind of people are not worth listening to and that he is just right the way he is. 

My oldest daughter and I have very fair skin. We don’t hate our skin or complain about it. We look after it. And if people want to joke about how fair we are, or make comments about how often we apply sunscreen we remind ourselves that we are doing what we need to in order to stay healthy and skin cancer free. 

Just as I don’t wish to make my kids instantly and magically compliant, impeccably tidy or less inquisitive, I do not wish to make them not Autistic. Nor do I hate Autism. 

Just as I do not wish my son to be taller, or mine and my daughters skin to be darker, I do not wish that my husband and daughter were not Bipolar. Nor do I hate Bipolar.

You see, Autism and Bipolar are part of a persons neurology. They are as much a part of my family as are the traits of curly hair, blue eyes, freckles and fair skin. The fact that half my family has atypical neurologies does not make me hate their brains. If they were not Autistic and Bipolar they would not be ..... them. 

Sure, my husbands manic irritability is frustrating at times, but he finds it really annoying when he can hear me chewing on cashew nuts when we watch tv together, and my habit of rolling over with the blankets is pretty inconvenient for him in winter. I’m pretty sure my tendency toward disorganisation is downright frustrating for him when it means he has no clean shirt to put on after a shower.  

We all have things we do that aren’t ideal. And none of us particularly like to have those things aired in public. 

Which brings me to the part that falls under “The way I speak about my children matters”. 

I once read a quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt. It said something like- what other people think of me is none of my business.  I would revise this for parents to- your frustrations with your children are none of their business and you are responsible for your own feelings.

We need to be careful what messages we give our kids. We need to tell them we love them unconditionally, not only if they behave a certain way. This is true for all kids, not just kids with differences.

The messages my kids need to hear from me are ones of encouragement and support. 
“I believe in you” 
“I am here for you whenever you need me”
“I love you no matter what”

They do not need to know about my worries for them. 
They do not need to know how frustrated I feel sometimes. 
Those things are mine. Not theirs. 
I am responsible for my feelings. 
My children are not responsible for my feelings nor are the cause of them. 
The cause of my feelings is my own reactions to situations. 
That is for me to deal with and my children do not need to be aware of that process. 
They are children and I am the adult. 
I need to be responsible for me and let them grow up secure in the knowledge that they can trust me to be there for them, whatever they need, whenever they need it. They need to know I will defend them always.

So it is important not only how I speak to my kids, but also how I speak about them. 

Let’s try to create a parallel. If my mother told me she loved me but hated my face, I’d be justifiably upset right? What if she told her friends that? I’m pretty sure people would agree that she was out of line. She should probably have kept that to herself and dealt with it quietly. Most Autistic people and Bipolar people say that Autism and Bipolar are part of them, it is who they are as much as their looks and height. So if I said to them I love you, but I hate your Autism/Bipolar, would that not be inappropriate too? And if I told a public support group, too? I think so.

Children are smart. They hear things. They know what goes on. And in this day and age if we discuss things in public forums on the internet, or write about them in blogs, our words are recorded and will be accessible pretty much forever. 

I know for sure that I do not want my kids to get online one day as they get older and read that I really struggled to parent them because they were so difficult to live with. I certainly wouldn't want them to read that I wished they were different than they are, even if that were how I felt at the time. 

I understand that we are all at different parts of our parenting journey. I realise that some of you are not at the same place as me. I know that for some of you the reality is that you are struggling so much that you can’t relate to what I am saying at all. I have been there too. If you read some of the early posts in my Amazing Adventures blog you will see references to this time. I didn’t stay long, but I have been there. 

Even if this is the case, and you are in a place where all you can think is about the things that are hard and the things you do want to be different, please also think about how you plan to process that. Please think about how it would affect your kids to know how you feel. We all want our parents to be proud of us. Your kids need that from you. If you need support getting to a place where you can deal with your frustrations without placing them on your kids please do that in a confidential and appropriate way so that your children do not feel they are the reason for your troubles. 

It is time we as a community stood together to look after our children. Like the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. It is time those of us who have walked a bit further or a bit longer step up and are heard. 

We as parents need to listen to adults who have been where our children are. When Autistic adults say to us that if we talk about our kids in a certain way it hurts them, we need to listen. When they say that if we complain about Autism our kids will hear that as us disapproving of them, we need to listen. 

I heard. I listened. I am passing the message on. 

Will you pass it on too? 

For all our children. They will be adults one day, and we do not want their story to be one that holds the same struggles as the Autistic adults who go before them. We can do better than those who went before us with less information. 

Surely we can do better for our children. The way we speak about our children matters, and they do not need to hear us saying we wish to change them. Us loving them does not rely on them being anything other than themselves just as they are,  and they need to know that. 

Please help me tell them. 

2014 photo challenge

One of the things I did last year that I really enjoyed was a photo a day challenge set by Fat Mum Slim.  

This year, as part of my desire to live more intentionally I have decided to set myself my own photo challenge. I'm calling it 

52 weeks * 365 photos

and it works like this......

Every Monday I will take a photo to suit the Monday prompt, every Tuesday I will take a photo to suit the Tuesday prompt, and so on.... 

I am hoping to keep a record of how I am travelling over the course of the year - the things that are inspiring me, the things that are hard, the things that are good. You get the idea. 

I will be posting the pictures daily in an album on the different kinds of normal Facebook page, and will post a collection of each months pictures in a post here as I complete the month. 

You are welcome to join me. I do ask that if you choose to use my prompts that you tag or link back to my Facebook page, please. You can also use the hashtag #differentkindsofnormal if you are into hashtagging.

Here's to an intentionally lived 2014.

Happy New Year!! 

Intentional living

Do you make New Years Resolutions?  I never have in the past. 

This year I am not really making resolutions either, but I have decided to make myself this reminder poster of the things I wish to be intentional about over the next months. 

They are all about overcoming fear, doing things I enjoy, noticing beauty, focussing on positivity and looking after myself (and therefore my family). 

What things do you want to be more intentional about in your life? Why don't you make a list and put it somewhere you will notice so it reminds you what you want to achieve? 

Life is complicated and then you get depressed

The title of this post is not meant to be facetious or sarcastic. Nor is it a cry for help. It is a statement of fact for many. Including me. 

Depression is really, really common. If you have not experienced it yourself, you know someone who has. 

Not many people talk about it. This could be because of the stigma attached with mood problems. I think it is decreasing, but it is still there. Comments like "you're just tired" "snap out of it" "why are you down in the dumps? your life is not that bad" "just think of all the things you have to be grateful for" and so on are still pretty commonplace. 

Or in my case.... "well, it's no wonder you are so tired and stressed, you have 6 kids".

While well meaning, those types of comments are not really very helpful! 

There is a difference between being tired (exhausted, even) and being depressed. Over the years I have learned how to distinguish quite well between the two, and these days I don't have to get really sick before I know to do something about it. 

The first time I experienced depression was when our third baby was about 1 1/2 I think. It probably started well before that, but I didn't realise something was not right until I noticed I'd been staying in bed almost all day letting the kids watch heaps of TV, and then getting up an hour before Hubby was due home from work to straighten up the house so he wouldn't know how badly I was feeling. My mind was in a fog, and I couldn't easily make decisions. I was snappy with the kids. I was not just tired. I was unwell. Over time I managed to pull myself out of it, not realising that I could actually go and get some help. In hindsight, and after discussing with my doctor, it seems likely I had a case of undiagnosed post natal depression. By the time he was 2 I was pretty much OK again. 

The next time was after baby five was born. Around the same time we made a 100km move, Hubby was diagnosed Bipolar. MasterL was experiencing huge anxiety issues and was finally diagnosed Aspergers. I had very little support in a new town, Hubby was studying and working, and I slipped into depression quite hard. This time though we were seeing a great psychologist for MasterL and she noticed what was happening. Hubby noticed too this time, and between them they talked me in to trying some medication. I am so glad they did. I went from being anxious, stressed, angry, disorganised, unable to enjoy things I usually loved and just plain miserable back to my normal content, slightly organised, mostly relaxed and tolerant self in the space of a few weeks. Over about 18 months I learned some new coping strategies and slowly reduced the medication under the supervision of a doctor, until I didn't need it. I've been off it and coping well for about 3 years now. 

Until about 2 months ago. When I first noticed some of my tell tale signs appearing I put it down to stress from Uni work load. Of course I should be stressed... I had assignments due and a baby to watch. Of course I was a bit snappy.... the baby was teething and so I wasn't sleeping.  Of course I was tired.... I have a lot to do every day and a lot on my mind. Overtiredness leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to sleeplessness, sleeplessness leads to grumpiness..... it all made sense.

Then Uni finished for the semester. And I am feeling no better really! 

For those of you who know me for real, please don't worry. And please don't make a big deal. I am OK right now. My mood is low, yes, and I am struggling a bit. But I know what to do. I have had tests to make sure it's not just my thyroid playing up again (it does that!), and I am off to the doctor next week to have a chat. I am exercising when I can. I am eating well. I am not lying in bed all day. I am OK. I just know myself well enough now to know that the way I feel at the moment is not my usual, and I need to look after myself a bit now before it gets worse. I'm not worried about it. I'll go talk to the doctor and see what she thinks. If she recommends some meds again, I'll take them. 

Depression is not the end of the world. It is a common condition, often a reaction to stressful circumstances, and is very treatable. 

If you, like me, struggle with depression, please get some help before you get really sick. Maybe you can just start by talking to a friend you trust and and asking them to help you think through what would be smart to do about it. If you don't want to talk to someone you know there are places you can seek help. Beyond Blue is a good place to start. If you are already in a pretty bad way, please don't wait. Call your doctor and make an appointment. Tell them how you are feeling and ask for help. Please remember that depression is just part of the normal range of human experience. Don't be embarrassed. Get some support and get well. 

one thing at a time

I made it through another semester of Uni.

I'll know in a few weeks how successful I was, but for now I am just enjoying not having the constant pressure of needing to be studying. I spent much less time than I wanted to with my text book in my hand, but the subject material was never far from my mind.

During the semester I had a few other major things on, as I usually do, and the kids were their usual time consuming selfs.

I guess I was looking pretty tired after a few nights of being up with BabyR teething, and a friend asked me if I was OK. I did a bit of a stress dump on her..... you know, the one where you blurt out all the things that are on your mind and what you have to get done in the next week.

She said, "I don't know how you do it all! You must be a little bit crazy".

This has been said to me numerous times over the years.... but for the first time I totally agreed. I was completely overwhelmed and had reached the point of being unproductive because of it. I had finally bitten off more than I could chew and having someone else notice was sobering in a way. There was nothing I could get out of without letting someone down, so I just had to get things done. And I did.

One thing at a time.

It's not the first time I've had to do it, but the first time I'd put myself in the situation. Previously I'd had to deal with things that had just landed in front of me, where as this time all the things in front of me I'd chosen to do. I will remember in future to pace myself a little better. But it was a good reminder that I can get through overwhelming situations.

I can stay calm.

I can prioritise.

I can ignore the less important and focus on the task at hand.

I can get through the tough times.

One thing at a time.