Mental Health
Anti-Stigma Mental Health Campaigns Often Ignore Our Realities
I have to be honest: I am not a fan of anti-stigma campaigns. Or, at least, not the way the campaigns are normally run. Let me explain why: I am forever grateful to live in a time where openness about …
Before You Offer Unsolicited Mental Health Advice on Social Media, Read This.
If you have a mental illness and you talk about it on the internet, someone is bound to respond almost immediately with unsolicited advice. Have you tried medication? Have you tried not taking medication? Meditation? Crystals? Yoga? A fad diet?…Are We Turning a Corner on Discussions of Gun Violence and Mental Health?
Content note: this post discusses gun violence, mental illness, and sexually abusive behavior. Like many of us living in the United States, I’m constantly bracing for the news of yet another mass shooting. As a human, I’m horrified by the…
Don’t Use “Functioning Labels” to Victim-Blame Me
Content note: this post discusses sexual abuse and rape. When people find out that I survived a rape and my assailant was a woman, their tone often immediately shifts from sympathy to disbelief or confusion: “How could a woman rape …
Judi Chamberlin: Mad Pride and the Fight Against Institutionalizing Women
Content note: this post discusses miscarriage, mental illness, and forced institutionalization. It’s Women’s History Month, which makes it an excellent time to talk about the fact that women’s history and disability history overlap significantly; notable women from Harriet Tubman to…
VIDEO: People With Mental Health Disabilities Shut Down Dangerous Ideas About Gun Violence
The assertion that severe mental illnesses cause gun violence, specifically mass shootings, is not helpful and not accurate, but it is harmful. It is a dangerous idea. And we hear it from the media and our leaders all the time.…
When Do I Get to Say “Me, Too?”
I love the word “disabled” because it speaks to the heart of the matter: my ability to move freely through life is hampered. As an “invisibly” disabled, white-passing, biracial, queer femme, I wear my privileges like armor. Pretty masks queer.…
Disabled People are Missing from Conversations on Campus Sexual Assault
Last month, the National Council on Disability released “Not on the Radar,” a comprehensive report about campus sexual assault and the disability community. It reveals extensive failures on this issue, from accessibility barriers at rape crisis services to…