Stigma

	stig·ma [ stígmə ] (plural stig·mas) noun Definition: 1. sign of social unacceptability: the shame or disgrace attached to something regarded as socially unacceptable

My post today will be about stigma. The above definition is from MSN Encarta.
In terms of stigma, schizophrenia is probably one of the worst diagnoses that you can get. Have you ever heard the term 'schizo' in reference to someone? There are other common abuses of words such as 'psycho' and 'psychotic' and very often 'crazy'.

There is so much shame in my family over my mental illness. My parents won't let me volunteer in a hospital that is around the corner from the hospital they work in. They are afraid someone they know will find out my last name. My mother never told her best friend that I got sick. Her best friend. So you can imagine the awkwardness that occurred at my grandfather's wake. Especially when I told her that I was a psychology major at college and then she started talking about bipolar disorder to me.

The stigma is so bad that I feel like I have to keep this blog as anonymous as possible. I suppose it could be argued that I am not helping the stigma issue by remaining anonymous. But I would like to work someday and I know that if an interviewer found out (other than a mental health job) about my illness, I'd probably automatically be crossed off the list of potential employees. I already have an 8 year gap in my resume against me. If this were a perfect world, I would be able to disclose my illness without it being frowned upon. But unfortunately, many people are afraid of those with schizophrenia and/or just don't understand it.