i'm a survivor with c-ptsd & i hate mental health awareness month: let's talk about it 💕

i'm a survivor with c-ptsd & i hate mental health awareness month: let's talk about it 💕

content warning: discussion of psychiatric abuse, coercion, ableism, institutionalization/hospitalization, & cops. please read with care xo

hi, i’m karina & i’m a survivor with c-ptsd. oh & by the way, i hate mental health awareness month. i want to talk about five of the reasons why:

1. the risks of reaching out

2. crisis lines suck

3. hierarchies of mental health

4. the reality of psychiatric abuse

5. self-care isn’t the solution

#1: the risks of “reaching out”

we are constantly bombarded with reminders to "reach out" if we're "struggling", even though many of us have tried to reach out for support repeatedly, despite how vulnerable & scary this is, & instead find cops at our doors for "wellness checks," coercion to go the ER, threats of institutionalization, further medical trauma & abuse, & increased isolation. this not only adds more labor to our lives but gives folks permission not to reach in & ask what we need. as @higher_priestress shared in an instagram post:

“saying ‘reach out if you need help’ is not helpful. just care for someone who you know needs it without them asking you to. it’s really difficult for struggling people to reach out. often, people believe they’re not worthy of love & support when they need help the most.”

— @higher_priestess

#2: crisis lines suck

crisis lines are constantly being reposted, often without vetting each hotlines' policies on topics such as:

• calling emergency services without our consent

• sharing our data for-profit without our consent

• accessibility

• marginalized communities' experiences using the hotline

this practice is performative at best. it's also incredibly irresponsible, with the potential of deadly ramifications, especially for BIPOC communities. dandelion hill created a wonderful offering of “emotional & mental health community resources” which includes links & information about resources such as the abolitionist care provider directory, peer support offerings, & peer support/warm lines that includes information about each lines’ policies.

#3: hierarchies of mental health

we all deserve care, support, & access to the resources we need to heal & thrive. unfortunately, for those of us who have highly stigmatized diagnoses (such as fellow cluster b personality disorder babes), not only do we experience ableist violence from mental health providers & institutions, but sadly, our peers, comrades, communities, & so-called "allies” as well. for example. people with a borderline personality disorder (bpd) diagnosis are seen as inherently abusive, dramatic, manipulative, "untreatable," & attention-seeking. want to learn more about how this stigma affects our treatment? check out the articles below:

• responses of mental health clinicians to patients with borderline personality disorder

• borderline personality disorder, stigma, & treatment implications

• structural stigma & its impact on healthcare for consumers with borderline personality disorder: protocol for a scoping review

#4: the reality of psychiatric abuse

psychiatric care has caused immense harm to many of us, especially those of us from marginalized communities. we have been harmed & even traumatized by common practices like:

• forced institutionalization

• involuntary treatmen

• nonconsensual drugging

• use of restraints & seclusion

• coercion

• sexual violence

• the complete loss of autonomy, self-determination, & our humanity

this is a non-exhaustive list. supportive, healing, alternative resources exist, such as peer support, harm reduction, & community care. i trust organizations like @projectlets & @peersupportspace which provide an abundance of supportive resources grounded in peer support.

#5: self-care isn’t the solution

advocating for practicing even more self-care as a solution, when healing happens in the context of a community & safe + secure relationships, sets up us to be blamed for continuing to struggle (healing isn’t linear), places more labor on people who are already exhausted, burnt out, & struggling, disconnects us further from each other by individualizing our experiences, & makes building communities of care & collective power difficult as we become further isolated from each other. as revolutionary grace lee boggs said, "the only way to survive is by taking care of one another."

we don’t want “awareness"; we demand liberation