RE: Living with A Mental Illness-A First Person Perspective
Thanks @kieranstone for such a thoughtful comment. I think this is a really interesting topic you raise. My perceptions are coloured by my background. In the Army it was traditionally seen as a weakness to be affected by this kind of thing, so there became a real effort to identify it as an injury to normalise it. No one looks down on you if you break a leg, so if we can frame it such that its seen the same way, then people would be more accepting of it. "Its just like a broken leg" literally became a saying in some settings. I think the labelling helped break down some barriers in this regard.
That said, you are 100% right in saying that it's completely normal for people to be affected by their experiences, so labelling it as abnormal can be counter productive. I know I don't publicise in the real world for fear of stigma, so there is undoubtedly some truth in what you say.
I like the broken leg analogy. It's an injury that will heal, maybe with some lingering symptoms, but you'll still be able to get on with life.