Please Stop the Stigma

With all the awareness now spreading in social media have encourage me to come out in the open and admit I'm one of those who were diagnosed with mental illness. Its been years that I am suffering from it and been also seeking for acceptance not only from my family but also from friends and even in society. I have  found a new group at work and became at ease with them. I tried to open up to one by one about my secret illness but got disappointed with their response. One with a brother of autism had told me just to change my perception especially at work. I'm really surprised since I thought she would be the most to understand where I am coming from. I often hear that what I needed was just a paradigm shift. Or simply just shake it off or snap out of it. If that could be the case, then it would really be easy to recover and get out from the pit of depression. But it is not. It's beyond description especially when the episode would start. I personally just want to disappear instantly than go through with it again and again. Another what I often hear was that people suffering from depression were selfish people especially those who committed suicide. They even recommended to try helping especially the less fortunate ones and guarantee the joy it would give. My retaliation is this: Do you really know me to judge me quickly that I'm such a selfish person? Do you know my story? Do you know what I went through? I may not be classified as a philatropist or a generous person but I do help especially if I could see I am needed. Even how little the task is. I don't have to enumerate the good works I've done but believe me I still remember the times when these less fortunate would exhort money from me. They will tell they don't have money to go back home to their province  and would ask for a large sum of money or even sell a picture of Sto. Nino with a price of hundred and would not accept a twenty peso bill. One Cenacle Sister told me you cannot give what you don't have. I need to learn first to love myself and fill my love tank before I could give to others. That I think is the reason why I felt drained and even still blaming myself for not being a good person since I failed to help. Stop the stigma please. Recently even Christians/Catholics are blaming the belief of the person suffering from mental illness. They openly preach to anchor deeply to God especially during episodes. My goodness! This is not the time for preaching. What I really wanted to point out is these people needs acceptance first. Mental Illness is not a perception. People needs people. Bring them out to isolation if we wanted to save lives. Stop the stigma. Then perhaps more of us will come up to the open. I even envy the priests who recently murdered for many of my past co-community posted on their fb and asked for prayers. But during the death of spade and bourdain they would criticize them having no meaning in their lives because they don't know God. Please pray for us too. Pray for our minds that it would always be clear and see hope. Then perhaps there won't be anymore suicides.