Have You Ever Felt Stigmatized?
Maltreatment, and mistreatment, as well as stigmatization of people with disabilities, and mental health conditions is a very real thing. Millions of people are coping with health conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, OCD, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, etc. A lot of people can encounter unfair, violating treatment, due to the stigma which exists in society surrounding these ailments. Yet, nobody deserves poor treatment, disrespect, etc. That type of treatment is irrational, and cruel, and should not have to be tolerated by anyone.
Have you ever felt stigmatized, or faced stigmatization in your life? What happened? Would you like to share your particular experience?
This is a very important topic, thanks for posting.
Listening .... One Step At A Time
Sure, being different in any way is hard.
I was the first person in my village who came out as gay. Also the first in my school. Graduated, went to a different school where I had to do that all over again.
I've been stigmatized for having depression, cptsd, and for being gifted (I hate that term, it's just a high IQ score). You would think a high IQ is a plus, but I've been stigmatized more for being gifted than for the other stuff. Growing up, people just naturally assumed that if I didn't agree with them and they didn't understand what I was saying, I must be wrong and stupid.
I don't believe people who stigmatize are inherently evil or something. They just don't know about how I'm different. And we all fear what we don't know.
It is literally in our DNA to react negatively to things that we are unfamiliar with. So why would I expect people to react positively? But the key for me has been extreme confidence, a good sense of humor, and a readiness to explain how I'm different without any drama. Doesn't always work but it certainly helps.
