Chronic Illness Stigma

Rock climbing saved my life. When I am on the side of that mountain, I feel more grounded, more alive, and more connected to the Universe. For me, it’s a holy place. This is my church. In my 32 short years on this planet, I have found climbing to be a beautiful metaphor for overcoming the difficulties life throws our way, sometimes.

In the rock climbing community as in everyday life, we refer to the obstacles we’re working through as “problems”. Although I am tired, hurting, and feel I can’t go on...I don’t give up. I continue pushing through the pain, doubt, and exhaustion until I finally reach the summit. At which point, I can reflect back on all the problems I overcame, the path I took, and what technique I used to get through it. Then, I can feel an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment for all my hard work. The next time I encounter a similar problem, I'll know what to do to get past it.

No one pushed or pulled me up the mountain. All that hard work was mine. The person on the ground belaying me is merely there to provide me with safety, support, and ensure I do not fall, should I stumble. Everything else is up to me. The more I work through my problems, with my friend supporting me on the ground, the stronger I become.

You see, therapy is a lot like rock climbing. In this allegory or metaphor, you (the climber) are the patient, the mountain is your crisis, the "problems" are all the obstacles that stand between you and overcoming the crisis such as the loss of a job or the death of a loved one or an illness, the summit is mental wellness, and the person belaying you is the therapist.

While your therapist doesn't tell you how to feel, what to think, or what conclusions to come to, they are there as a constant support to figuratively catch you should you have any setbacks during your journey. They keep you safe and secure by "holding the rope" so that you do not plummet, and so you can resume where you left off whenever you are ready.

You can absolutely achieve wellness on your own, or "free climb", but the trek will be significantly more difficult, and there will be no one "on the ground" to spot an easier path or remind you of different techniques you can implement to overcome those problem areas. So even though you are the one doing all the work, your therapist is an integral part of your team, who spots the problem areas ahead of time and assists in identifying the various tools you can use to get past them. In essence, they help you work through the problems in this way, without actually pulling or pushing you up the side of the "mountain". This is how you gain the strength and coping tools needed to persevere toward this summit and all future summits. Thus, rock climbing has taught me that when you replace "I" with "we", mental illness truly does become mental wellness❤

#MentalHealth #CollegeMentalHealth #wellness #CollegeSports #Sports #Therapist #Psychiatrist #ChronicIllnessStigma #EndTheStigma #MentalHealthStigma #BipolarDisorder #Agoraphobia #BrainInjury #Medication #Inspiration #Depression #Addiction #MentalHealthHero

Hello, I would like to ask if anyone else who is disabled or chronically ill gets “bullied” and nagged from family members about medically necessary medication to allow a person to better function, reduce their pain levels and try to achieve a somewhat better quality of life?
I am dealing with significant other commenting and stating derogatory comments that my eyes show that I took my medication or something similar. Also, it has escalated to the point where I’ve been told I cannot accompany this person to (wherever the planned destination was that day) because of fears of what people would think “seeing that I’m using my prescribed medication” which we all know sometimes have side effects that, especially someone who knows you before you became very ill and knows you for decades might be more apt to notice differences in appearance or other induced side effects of prescription medications. Thank you very much. Best wishes to all 💝

I'm at my wit's end with the healthcare system that makes me more unwell when asking for help.
They use my strength against me and stigmatise me so many times. I've even had professionals comment on other professionals doing it in my medical records so it isn't just in my head or my perception.

My GP did it to me today and I calmly said what I needed to and have since pushed all the "support" away.

I tried for 3 weeks straight to get help and am now hopeless.

I was doing so well with my health- both mental and physical. Due to snow my metal work flared up my pain and I'm being refused pain relief and I asked why. Long story short this GP practice don't believe in strong painkillers. Then they accused me of coming across as manipulative and I said to her "I understand it comes across like that but it is not at all intended that way. I'm trying to get my needs met in a safe way and it is matter of fact". She continued to express she felt "backed into a corner" and I said the same thing.

I ended up punching the wall after this call and getting enraged. Not like me. I feel so stigmatised. I've been a responsible adult and not at all used my mental illness as an excuse to demand anything. I then called back to push everything away. This is how my BPD symptoms that were in remission for months have now flared up. The stigma.

#BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ChronicIllnessStigma #BPDStigma #Disability #SexualAbuseSurvivors ##Se

Cheer me up and check on me and give support? At least I got up showered and did my physical therapy exercises. Discouraged about my weight gain. #PTSD #Bipolar2Disorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ADHD #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #CheckInWithMe #Chatspace #Upallnight #Borderline Bipolar depression #BipolarDisorder #MightyTogether #MightyQuestions #TheMightyTakeaway #Art #PolycysticOvarySyndrome #BorderlineStigma #CPTSD #PinchedNerve #ChronicPain #Fibromyaliga #Fibromyalgia #FibromyalgiaSucks #ChronicPain #GastroesophagealRefluxDisease #PolycysticOvarySyndrome #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #Photography #Friends #Love #sad #Faith #god #Sadness #WeightFluctuation #WeightLoss #ChronicIllnessStigma

Orry thoughts. I’m all alone noones checking on me besides my college aged friend who I consider to be my cousin he’s very caring and has helped me tremendously and my cousin in ct. this pandemic is making me unwell emotionally and physically. Can people give me support and words of love and care?? #CheckInWithMe #alone #Alonewithnosupport #NoOneFightsAlone #PTSD #CPTSD #CPTSDinrelationships #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BorderlineStigma #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #Bipolar2Disorder #bipolar2depression #Depression #Anxiety ##OCD #BOR #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ADHD #Aspergers #AspergersSyndrome #Flareup #Upallnight #selfcaresaturday #CheckInWithMe #FibromyalgiaAwarenessDay #FibroFog #Fibromyaliga #FibromyalgiaDiagnosis #Fibromyalgia #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #HypothyroidismUnderactiveThyroidDisease #HashimotosThyroiditis #ChronicPain #ChronicIllnessStigma #PolycysticOvarySyndrome #PCOSAwarenessMonth #Friends #TheMighty #MightyQuestions #MightyReviews #MightyFeatures #TheMightyTakeaway #TheMighty #MightyFeatures #InsideTheMighty #MyMightyMonth #MightyGreetings #MightyMoms #MightyMail #MightyTogether #Music #Yoga #Photography #artist #Art #Animals #Love #sad #lonely #Lonliness #WritingThroughIt #writer #Poetry #Jeopardy #god #Catholic #Faith #Prayer #Makeup #cry