I have a mental illness, I have Bipolar Disorder. I have been diagnosed since I was a teenager. I have struggled with stigma my whole life. I have been discounted and put aside as not of consequence.
I have worked very hard for inclusion of LGBTI people in the religious and social life of community, and I do the same for people with symptoms of mental illness. The path of some to seek religion as a way of treating mental problems is not mine. I find some small comfort in my faith, but it is not therapy. It is not healing, it is treatment for the soul, not the mind.
"The Crown" Season 4, Episode 7, highlights how people were once institutionalized for their mental health issues within the UK Royal Family. The Olmstead Act in the USA integrates people with disabilities with their larger communities. It is something I have taken as a goal for my independent living and for the people for whom I advocate. "Nothing about Us without Us", is the mantra for advocacy, "Each One, Reach One, Teach One", for the peer education work I did, and "Together for a Better World" as the Rev. Patrick Leuben Mukajanga of dear memory would say, a motto for all my activism. My life's work has been selfless, but as I age and grow somewhat sickly, I must step down aspects of my work. I hope this transition to a new role of me in a more private life yields some success for me and for those I have always held dear.
