misunderstanding mental illness is
having a daughter who you’ve known for
22 years but because she hasn’t had an
anxiety attack at home in the last three
months because maybe she’s taking a few
too many of her anxiety meds you
suddenly forget that yelling at her to
get her together and you’re fine
just get ready you’re gonna make us late
isn’t the best way to address your
daughter if you talk to almost anyone
who has overcome a mental illness
they’ll tell you that they’re proud of
their past and what they have overcome
to be where they are today because they
have undergone a transformation that
they could not have done otherwise a
2012 study conducted by Patrick Corrigan
published in psychiatric services vol 63
proves that interaction with those who
have a mental illness is the best way to
reduce the stigmas and the
discrimination against these individuals
and by asking you today and others to
undergo this transformation we can
misunderstanding mental illness I was
sitting with my back against the dryer
crying enough tears to fill the washer
with salt water because I didn’t have
the energy to get my ass off the laundry
room floor to go to brunch with my aunt
uncle and cousin who are nothing but
toxic company with the way they
disregarded my opinions and knowledge so
why would I want to be there anyways and
that you were still standing there
yelling at me like you’ve had four
that this used to be every other day for
me whether it was in bed because I
couldn’t get up that day or just living
to see the next one or New Year’s Eve
2015 when I was so depressed and anxious
I had a three-hour panic attack and you
had to resort to giving me the dogs
xanax to help calm me down because you
couldn’t conceive another way and I
hadn’t started my medication yet you’ve
forgotten that the best way to help me
stand again is to be gentle and to
understand misunderstanding mental
illness is disregarding any significant
changes in eating habits how your friend
can get up immediately after eating and
grabbing their makeup bag runs to the
bathroom getting back saying oh sorry I
just had a pee and fix my lips when they
had left their lipstick on the burger
they had just shoved down their throat
and write the rest off with toilet paper
and bile after expertly ejecting the
chunks of the burger down the toilet or
how you suddenly start using smaller
plates because it looks like the food is
filling more of the flat surface and
less sliding down your esophagus or how
you suddenly stops stockpiling snacks in
your knapsack from when you spend 12
hours at school because eating disorders
misunderstanding mental illness is not
recognizing the symptoms of how we wake
up late to work to school to therapy
every day and attributed to having
stayed up weights you late
when we don’t recognize that we are
getting eight plus hours of sleep that
night and then napping midday and it’s
not just us who misunderstand or
recognize our symptoms our parents and
teachers disregard our symptoms as well
attributing our tardiness to laziness or
a lack of caring and acting like the
first scars on our arms don’t exist
because ignorance is easier than
addressing a touchy subject with
subjects you consider too young to be
going through this misunderstanding
mental illness is when they don’t
understand why you have to forfeit your
debate round because of a panic attack
that turned into a full-on mental
breakdown and 30 seconds into preparing
for your next debate prepping didn’t
matter anymore all you wanted was for
your anxiety to go away whatever it took
and I was fully focused on nothing but
trying not to take my entire bottle of
anxiety meds to the point where I had to
pull my fingers from my skin before I
rebuking myself for not self harming
trying not to find the only anything in
the room to hurt myself with regretting
leaving my lighter in my other purse
because damn it feel good so hold my
hand over an open flame right now but
I can’t hurt myself not again it’s been
too long and then I’m back to rebuking
myself not to take the entire bottle of
pills because I worked too hard for this
and the anxiety just needs to go away
and it didn’t matter I pulled the
trigger only accelerated the bullet that
continues to circle my head until my
mouth has opened wide enough for it to
enter and blast my brain to bits so that
misunderstanding mental illness is
thinking that everyone’s anxiety is the
same thinking everyone’s depression is
the same thinking everyone’s story is
the same understanding mental illness is
knowing that what helped your friend
with their depression will not
necessarily help me with mine
understanding mental illness is not
getting mad at your daughter when she
can’t get dressed because getting ready
understanding mental illness is not
caring about being dragged from your
college dorm room bunk at 4 in the
morning when you have class at 8 to
Sprint’s at the top of the parking
garage be through snow flakes because
your friend is drunk and doesn’t want to
[Applause] [Music]
having a daughter who you’ve known for
22 years but because she hasn’t had an
anxiety attack at home in the last three
months because maybe she’s taking a few
too many of her anxiety meds you
suddenly forget that yelling at her to
get her together and you’re fine
just get ready you’re gonna make us late
isn’t the best way to address your
daughter if you talk to almost anyone
who has overcome a mental illness
they’ll tell you that they’re proud of
their past and what they have overcome
to be where they are today because they
have undergone a transformation that
they could not have done otherwise a
2012 study conducted by Patrick Corrigan
published in psychiatric services vol 63
proves that interaction with those who
have a mental illness is the best way to
reduce the stigmas and the
discrimination against these individuals
and by asking you today and others to
undergo this transformation we can
misunderstanding mental illness I was
sitting with my back against the dryer
crying enough tears to fill the washer
with salt water because I didn’t have
the energy to get my ass off the laundry
room floor to go to brunch with my aunt
uncle and cousin who are nothing but
toxic company with the way they
disregarded my opinions and knowledge so
why would I want to be there anyways and
that you were still standing there
yelling at me like you’ve had four
that this used to be every other day for
me whether it was in bed because I
couldn’t get up that day or just living
to see the next one or New Year’s Eve
2015 when I was so depressed and anxious
I had a three-hour panic attack and you
had to resort to giving me the dogs
xanax to help calm me down because you
couldn’t conceive another way and I
hadn’t started my medication yet you’ve
forgotten that the best way to help me
stand again is to be gentle and to
understand misunderstanding mental
illness is disregarding any significant
changes in eating habits how your friend
can get up immediately after eating and
grabbing their makeup bag runs to the
bathroom getting back saying oh sorry I
just had a pee and fix my lips when they
had left their lipstick on the burger
they had just shoved down their throat
and write the rest off with toilet paper
and bile after expertly ejecting the
chunks of the burger down the toilet or
how you suddenly start using smaller
plates because it looks like the food is
filling more of the flat surface and
less sliding down your esophagus or how
you suddenly stops stockpiling snacks in
your knapsack from when you spend 12
hours at school because eating disorders
misunderstanding mental illness is not
recognizing the symptoms of how we wake
up late to work to school to therapy
every day and attributed to having
stayed up weights you late
when we don’t recognize that we are
getting eight plus hours of sleep that
night and then napping midday and it’s
not just us who misunderstand or
recognize our symptoms our parents and
teachers disregard our symptoms as well
attributing our tardiness to laziness or
a lack of caring and acting like the
first scars on our arms don’t exist
because ignorance is easier than
addressing a touchy subject with
subjects you consider too young to be
going through this misunderstanding
mental illness is when they don’t
understand why you have to forfeit your
debate round because of a panic attack
that turned into a full-on mental
breakdown and 30 seconds into preparing
for your next debate prepping didn’t
matter anymore all you wanted was for
your anxiety to go away whatever it took
and I was fully focused on nothing but
trying not to take my entire bottle of
anxiety meds to the point where I had to
pull my fingers from my skin before I
rebuking myself for not self harming
trying not to find the only anything in
the room to hurt myself with regretting
leaving my lighter in my other purse
because damn it feel good so hold my
hand over an open flame right now but
I can’t hurt myself not again it’s been
too long and then I’m back to rebuking
myself not to take the entire bottle of
pills because I worked too hard for this
and the anxiety just needs to go away
and it didn’t matter I pulled the
trigger only accelerated the bullet that
continues to circle my head until my
mouth has opened wide enough for it to
enter and blast my brain to bits so that
misunderstanding mental illness is
thinking that everyone’s anxiety is the
same thinking everyone’s depression is
the same thinking everyone’s story is
the same understanding mental illness is
knowing that what helped your friend
with their depression will not
necessarily help me with mine
understanding mental illness is not
getting mad at your daughter when she
can’t get dressed because getting ready
understanding mental illness is not
caring about being dragged from your
college dorm room bunk at 4 in the
morning when you have class at 8 to
Sprint’s at the top of the parking
garage be through snow flakes because
your friend is drunk and doesn’t want to
[Applause] [Music]
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