The more I learn about depression, the more I come to terms with the fact that there will always be more to learn. In fact, it’s likely that there’s so much more I don’t know about my own depression than what I’ve learned over the past decade. I write that to say when we talk about mental health, knowledge certainly is power. But sometimes, it can also be something that leads to shame and stigma. Even though depression is complicated to understand and difficult to unpack, there is no shame in experiencing it. But reducing the stigma around mental health is so much more than saying that – it’s also encouraging difficult conversations that unfortunately, most people don’t want, or don’t know how, to have.
Continue readingtalking
What is Empathic Communication?
Understanding perspectives is an important part of this blog. Whether I’m discussing my own point-of-view or sharing details of other peoples’ experiences, perspective is a facet of mental health that should be included more in the conversation. Sharing our experiences is extremely important to help shrink the stigma, and something that’s just as important as sharing our experiences is allowing others to do the same. I want to build on this week’s post about seeing the world through a mental health lens by talking about empathic communication – a tool that puts the emphasis on listening – and how we can use it to help shrink the stigma.
Continue readingStrategies for Accepting a Compliment
On Tuesday I talked about how difficult it is for me to accept a compliment. Without going into too much detail, let’s just say that the main reason I can’t really accept a compliment is that I don’t think all that highly of myself. However, despite this, I have gotten increasingly better at accepting compliments from people. How do I do it? Well, I’ve come up with a few strategies that help me not get sidetracked when someone has something nice to say. Here are some of my favorites:
My Brain's Not Broken 