Beyond the diagnosis: Fighting the stigma

We are ending mental health awareness month and it seems appropriate to give recognition to the people who make this all happen and at the same time, make all worth it: mental health warriors. I don't think there is a better way to prove that speaking up about mental health is worth it than spending time with another person that is going through something similar. As a psychologist I learned a lot of theories but it was only until I saw in my own skin and in the stories of those that I care about, the urgency and need of a change in the whole conception of mental health that I convinced myself of the importance of speaking up. Yes, the truth is that it isn't a easy road, and that you'll find a lot of bumps along the way. And also another truth is that we need more than testimonies to make a change, we need policies and educational programs. But also we need urgently a huge social change which can be lead by all those brave warriors who dare to accept in the light of a co...

Once again, like every year, we find ourselves on the mental health awareness month: May. I’ve been reflecting a lot on what this means, beyond this huge name that seems more complex without bringing further explanation. To be truly aware of mental health is to acknowledge in all of its depths what it implies, to truly accept all of what mental health brings with it. And the base of that, which is logic basically, is to know that you and I, and every single human being we cross our paths with should be informed and involved at least in a minimum way with things regarding mental health.  Why? Because we all have a mental health. We all have thoughts, emotions, psyché, mental state, mind, call it how you want. But as well as we all have a heart and know even if it’s a minimum of how to keep it healthy and avoid a heart attack, or how to recognize one and what to do in that case to preserve life, why can’t we do the same with our mental health? Because it ...