So I’m on Twitter today and someone says that Natasha Tracy stigmatizes the mentally ill (paraphrasing). Specifically, Bipolar Burble is “one of the most stigmatizing things I’ve ever seen.”
Now, in case you haven’t kept up with completely uncurrent events – Natasha Tracy also has a mental illness called bipolar disorder. And while I’m sure that some people don’t like the way I express that or my opinions on it, to say I’m stigmatizing to those with a mental illness is, well, redonkulous.
What Is Mental Illness Stigma?
Okay, as I’ve said before, mental illness stigma campaigns are not where we ought to be spending our time (see a talk I did on mental illness stigma here). Stigma is a fluffy concept about how others feel about those with a mental illness and we need to be focusing on how people with a mental illness are treated. It’s discrimination and prejudice that matters, not fluffy feelings, which, honestly, people have a right to no matter how much I may disagree with them.
That said, accusing me of stigmatizing people with mental illness is insulting. It suggests that I’m painting people with mental illness in a bad light and somehow making people feel negatively about those with a mental illness. That is utter poppycock.
Natasha Tracy, Stigma and Mental Illness
Let’s look at what I do on this blog and the others I have written. What I do is express what it’s like for me to have bipolar disorder – and this resonates with many people as many people with bipolar share experiences. I also express my opinions on mental illness and, often, bipolar disorder. Again, these opinions resonate for many – but, of course, not all.
And if expressing my experience with mental illness, bipolar, and my opinions on related topics spreads mental illness stigma, then guilty be I, I suppose.
But here’s the thing, I would never tell anyone that sharing personal experiences is stigmatizing to any group. Any genuine and honest experience is just that – a experience. The experience, in and of itself, is real, and it is not responsible for the feelings it may bring up in others. Hate me for my experiences? Well, that is your right but it’s not my fault.
The same goes for opinions. Look, if I say something horrible like [insert ethnicity] is the devil, I could understand people getting mad, but I would never say that. Moreover, even if I did, I still wouldn’t be responsible for stigmatizing a whole group of people. This is a country that has freedom of speech and that means I get to say whatever I want about whomever I want and if you react badly to it, it’s your problem, not mine.
(Of course, if I started spouting off hate speech, I would lose a significant number of a readers. That would be the consequence for my actions and I would have to deal with that.)
But, in short, I would never tell someone expressing their experience and views that they are responsible for stigmatizing a whole group of people – even if I really disagreed with him or her. Because people have the right to make up their own minds and just because I spout something hateful (which I don’t feel I do) that doesn’t mean that someone else has to take it on. People spout all kinds of hateful things about bipolar and mental illness all the time – that hasn’t changed my mind one whit.
So, to Twitter person I say this: stop blaming me for what you assume other people think after reading my work. That is not my problem – never has been. I don’t stigmatize anyone. I tell my persona truth. And if that doesn’t sit well with you, feel free to read someone else’s work that does.
Inset image by Live Life Happy.
Whwn you are in the public eye there are many pro and against ones statements in logs, etc. If Natasha helped one person than she should be held in the highest of respect. I have learned much and I have also felt that Natasha once in a while goes over the line. I take lots of the bad comments as noise. Natasha isn’t a spectator. She is on the field playing. Complaining is very easy. Takes no effort to do. The hard work is in the doing. Natasha is doing. She is on the court for everyone to see. For that alone I give her kudos. If I dont like what she says in an article I Have to remember that she invited me into her world. And, for the people who follow the workings or principles of social media Natasha can sanitize her blog very easily by deleting the negative comments like many bloggers do, and even block the IP address but that is not what the professionals do and Natasha is a professional in the social media field She leaves the bad in with the good for all to see and have a spirited conversation. Kudos to Natasha. At least this isnt about the True Hope fiasco where lawsuits were threatened if apologies weren’t made and so on . Natasha stood by her views and in the end was vindicated . Very serious charges were brought against a family member of the company. Many of you I assume witnessed that fiasco for a few months. Natasha is one of us. No one should forget that. How many of us put ourselves out in the mainstream to be put under the microscope. Think about that next time an insult is hurled or whatever. She is on the court sweating and playing as hard as she can and we are in the stands watching. Bless you Natasha. I see no hidden agendas whatsoever. If you go way back in her posts you may truly get to know her … Lets not forget the words all of yearn for. Those word are empathy and compassion. We are all in the same Bipolar disease boat. Some of us far worse than others…..Lets practice empathy and compassion… Remember, we are in her home… Keep on going on Natasha. I may not like everything you say based on my world view of Bipolar but I am in your house and respect you for letting me in.
Hi Michael,
Your comment almost made me cry. I’m in a slew of hate mail right now for a piece I released last week and I totally get it and I try not to let it affect me, but, well, I’m actually a human so, occasionally, it does.
I appreciate you saying that you don’t agree with everything — no one does. We’re all individuals. But your respect and appreciation mean everything to me.
Thank you.
– Natasha Tracy
Please, please remove me from your mailing list. Rather go into why, I won’t. Thank you!
Hi Tracy,
I absolutely will but I can’t at this moment because the plugin is broken.
Which mailing list are you on? For comments? Posts?
– Natasha Tracy
Aw stick around like a buffet take what you want leave the rest
Hi Hollisbryte,
Well said.
I think the person who made the original social media comment felt my work was a buffet of raw onions (I don’t like onions).
– Natasha Tracy
In case there was any confusion, stigma implies disapproval of that to which the term is applied. It appears that these critics have mistaken your keen insight, unique ability to connect with your readers and adeptness at putting powerful emotions into words for contempt, I for one, refuse to listen to anyone who isn’t part of my support system on matters involving my illness-and you should, too! Your writing style and the angle form which you approach a variety of issues has led me to some important revelations. I look forward to continuing your journey with you.
Natasha,
Another great post…you not only set the record straight here, but you encourage a lot of us to share to fight the stigma. I like the word redonkulous. This also reminded me of a phrase one of my children used when he was four. He would say “this is making me ridiculous”. I could here him saying that right now to your Twitter person.
Thanks as always!
Bob
Easier said than done, but turn a cold shoulder to the nay-sayers. You do amazing work on your website. There will always be people who have something negative to say. Just keep doing what you’re doing Natasha!
Your sentence about saying “whatever you want about whomever” contradicts the entire article..
If you do believe that you are entitled to do that, then the individual you are complaining about are also surely within their right to voice their opinion on you. ????
Hi Connor,
Of course he has the _right_. It doesn’t mean I have to agree with it or not comment on it.
– Natasha Tracy
You didn’t link to the actual tweet, just your own blog? Or did I miss it? Where is the original tweet?
Hi Debby,
You didn’t miss it. I didn’t link to it. I didn’t really want to point a finger at this person but I wanted to comment on it.
– Natasha Tracy
Tasha, yours is one of the few mental health blogs I read, and it’s because you are so real. You don’t sugarcoat the rough psrts, and show healthy relief when things do help. You use scientific principles, not fluff feel good stories, to deal with your mental illness and top teach others about it.
Dealing with mental illness isn’t easy. It’s hard, and messy, and admitting that isn’t stigmatized is honest. And if people can’t handle honest they can go somewhere else
Monica
Hi Natasha
I want to let you know how much you’ve helped me by writing down your personal experiences and beliefs so honestly. I feel so much the better when I read your blogs because I feel VALIDATED and a little less alone. The reason I use the word “validated” is not because I feel insignificant but because there’s so much ignorance about the illness that sometimes I believe their hype-there’s certainly more of that than the truth and I thank you for bravely putting it out there. I’m a word person so I go straight to dictionary (so many words I think I know but not really!). The word stigmatize means “to set some mark of disgrace or infamy on”. Then I had to look up infamy of course! It means extremely bad reputation. I’ve read so may of your articles and the information, personal beliefs and experiences in no way by definition stigmatize BP. In fact your writings help me feel just the opposite when there’s so little understanding of it, at least in my world. So to fm sum up I’ve never felt disgraces nor of ill repute when I read your writings. Just the opposite. Thank you again. A
Natasha — love you much! I hate Twitter. I appreciate your posts!
What was the context? Were they referencing any particular article or were they speaking in generalities?
Hi Jared,
The person was speaking generally, from what I could tell.
– Natasha Tracy
I just re-read this post thinking it was brand new. Then I scrolled down and found my own comment. Looking at the date I realized I had just finished a series of ECT treatments. “Man forgets reading mental illness blogger’s post about stigma due to ECT”.That made me laugh. Lol.
That’s really really funny because let me see…well this entire subject is funny. With all the people being incarcerated against their will so that the industry can profit and the victims be damned, yes, that is hilarious. Let’s all have a great big laugh. A haaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Natasha, I truly appreciate your honesty. So much of what I read seems like fluffy ‘you can do it’ encouragement. It’s so refreshing to read someone who is real. Yeah, some days aren’t so bad and some days really suck. There are other people out there like me which makes me feel less lonely and wierd. Keep being honest, don’t worry about haters who just don’t get it.
It’s just one person on twitter, which is useful for posting short, unsophisticated statements instead of making a genuine case. Natasha, you help others very generously by sharing your experiences and insight. I can understand why the twitter comment might be unnerving, or annoying, etc, but it is entirely wrong, unjustified, and unsubstantiated. Wishing you well today.
I have been helped so much by your writings, videos, and the comments. I feel much LESS stigmatized. I have come out of much of my hiding. I don’t feel alone anymore. Your tips and links for managing bipolar have been extremely helpful. I’m very grateful for the support in the daily battle for my life.
The Twitter poster is either trolling you or they don’t like the truth. Maybe they aren’t happy that you paint the real picture without culture and media-based airy fairy, happy snappy endings. They might think that bipolars can live as normal a life as anyone if they just do something or another. They probably buy the meaningless, demeaning platitudes. They can’t look at the horror of how difficult mental illness really is, or that there are no known cures. I doubt that they have a mental illness. If they do, they are in denial. I know early on I hoped the platitudes and simple solutions were true. I was angry if someone suggested I might be mentally ill. The truth can be hard to accept, and you tell the truth. Yeah, every case is different, but I’m amazed at how very much I relate to you and so many who comment.
Your blog is my solace in tough times. I learn from you and I admire your courage in speaking up so consistently.
Having witnessed this myself, I am so happy to see this article. I have been very recently diagnosed with bipolar, and not only did you inspire me to acknowledge and accept my condition, you inspired me to start a blog of my own, to help others as your site helped me, and to help end stigma!
Keep being you ❤️
-Sunny Psyche
This blog is the opposite of stigma, thanks Natasha.
Stigma is expressed when we define mental illness as a type of person rather than a type of illness.
This miscategorization means that when a prejudiced doctor is making a health assessment he or she attributes the physical symptoms as being part of the mental illness; seeing the type of person as being physically different from the norm because of mental illness. When I developed gallstones it took me a year to get this fairly straightforward diagnosis. Six different doctors failed to see that the excruciating pain wasn’t psychosomatic and caused by bipolar disorder.
In the same way people going for jobs aren’t judged for their skills and abilities or promoted along those lines. Instead they are considered as a type of person and the estimation of their abilities is considered in the light of their ‘being bipolar’ rather than ‘having bipolar disorder’.
Another major perpetuation of stigma is what I would caĺl ‘the TV news narrative. In order to make a news story there needs to be a compelling narrative. Blaming the crime on mental illness is an important part of this, whether it is factually correct or not. As long as there is fear generated in the viewersthey will keep watching and they will learn what ‘type of person’ is mental illness.
For those with a mental illness, remember it is not who you are. It is something you have to deal with.
My observation is most of your articles deal with living with bipolar. It’s not stigmatizing, but rather practical for people with bipolar and caregivers/friends/family. One thing I’ve said many times is my body no longer auto-pilots itself well because the default is now off.
Hi. I’ve just recently been exploring your blog here, and I must say the posts are very well written and relevant.
They are such a treat to read.
One of the things I’ve been challenged with since encountering mental health in my live, is reading. I can only accomplish reading short passages at a time. I would not keep coming back to your blog (and reading it bit by bit) if it were stigmatizing.
If anything its educational for people with lived experience, caregivers and the general public!
Wishing you the best. Ian.