Download or read book Stigmatized: Breaking the Silence and Demystifying Mental Illness written by Petrona Joseph and published by . This book was released on 2021-09-03 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why is it so hard for me to stay in one place? Why don't I feel like the "Strong Black Woman" as perceived by friends and family? Who and what have I been running from my whole life? My planned suicide 10 years ago was a cry to God. And when a friend of mine joked about me being 'bipolar', I brushed it off. Years later, while suspended on a 30,000 feet bridge and had the worst panic attack of my life, I was forced to face my mental illness. I will probably always live with suicidal tendencies, but now I understand how to ride the waves of my depressive episodes. I know that hope and despair come and go in waves and my job is to make my way back to the shorelines of hope. Mental illness is stigmatized globally, but it does not discriminate. Even as you read this, somewhere in the world another person has just departed by suicide. Let's break the cycle. Sharing my story is one way that I can contribute to breaking the cycle of stigmatization, shame, fear, and guilt that compounds our efforts to heal our mental health. This book exposes the tremendous power of hope and healing and is told to offer new hope to others who are coping every day with mental illness.