"Bipolar runs in my family, so I knew the harsh realities of this untreated illness. A family member faked his own death after a counterfeiting spending spree. My grandfather told people that I would die in a car accident, and he would take my body up to the mountain and bring me back to life.
When I was younger, surrounded by this family chaos, it was easy to tell myself, 'They are crazy!' I bought into many of the stigmas of mental illness — that those with mental illness are unpredictable, incompetent, and have trouble holding down a job.
I thought I was different. I was married to a hospital CEO, attended charity events, lived in a beautiful home, and had three healthy children. Yet, life felt unbearable. The stigmas around mental illness kept me from getting the help I desperately needed, so I continued to suffer in silence."
Sonja Wasden is a mental health advocate and co-author of An Impossible Life.
She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "I bought into the stigmas about the mentally ill, until I became one of them." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/06/i-bought-into-the-stigmas-about-the-mentally-ill-until-i-became-one-of-them.html)
Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. Welcome to The Podcast by KevinMD.
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