On #WorldMentalHealthDay , we need to acknowledge the violence that our ableist systems inflict on people with mental illness(es). It often goes unnoticed, & we silence people with mental illness with shame & stigma.

BIPOC folx are, as always, disproportionately affected. 1•

Mindfulness & wellness rhetoric, & “programs” initiated by oppressive systems only worsen the inequity. These may be effective strategies for stressful times that an otherwise mentally healthy person encounters. If genuine, they can serve as supportive measures to supplement 2•

comprehensive & trauma-informed treatment of mental illness. But make no mistake, there is so much more to treating mental illness than this. Too often, these are coverup measures for organizations & systems that actively foster & cause mental illness. 3•

“But mindfulness/wellness are a good thing,” you say. You speak from a place of privilege. They aren’t welcome when they’re a capitalist strategy to cover up an organization’s complicity in upholding & perpetuating ableism. They are often a strategy to get people back to work.4•

While we’re at it, let’s challenge the idea that temporary experiences of stress are “the same” as coping with a chronic mental illness. This isn’t meant to diminish the former, but rather to bring due attention to the latter. Chronic mental illness is debilitating. 5•

Info from CAMH:
•People w/ a mood disorder are at much higher risk of developing a long-term medical condition.
•Mental illness can cut 10-20 years from a person’s life expectancy.
•42% of Cdns were unsure whether they would socialize w/ a friend who has a mental illness. 6•

Let’s learn, and let’s dismantle. 7•