Mondays with Mike: Let’s talk about it

A few weeks ago our friend Mark did a guest post about his bout with depression. Besides being a well-written and illuminating account, writing and agreeing to publish that post was a courageous act on Mark’s part. That’s because we’ve come a long, long way when it comes to mental health, but still, people don’t talk about it the way they do, say, migraines or acid reflux. And when it comes to health insurance, mental health coverage tends to be spotty, treated as a sort of luxury add-on.

In other words, a stigma still lingers around mental illness. It’s a kind of cloud consisting of a lack of understanding on the part of broader society, and a tendency to conflate mental illness with character deficiency. For those living with a mental health issue, that stigma can create a sense of shame and reluctance to talk about it. All of which results in a negative loop that reinforces the stigma. On one hand a lot of people don’t understand, but if we don’t talk about it, how can they?

Worth the watch.

Luckily we have the likes of Mark and others who are willing to out themselves and normalize the conversation around mental health issues. One of those others is our friend Jackie, an ebullient force of nature who got a bad break when it comes to brain chemistry but hasn’t let that stop her.

Beth and I met Jackie when she was an energetic soccer-playing tween who seemed to have the world on a string. Things are not always as they seem.

I’d tell you more but better to let Jackie tell you. May is mental health awareness month and to mark it, Jackie is doing a series of short (one to two minutes) videos about her experience.

Here’s one—I hope you’ll give it a look, and encourage you to binge watch the other episodes. Jackie articulates her experiences in a way that addresses the seriousness of mental illness while also saying, “relax, we can talk about this stuff.” And even laugh about it. 

They really are short, they’re friendly and informal, they’re engaging, and they carry a wallop. I learned a lot and I think you will, too.