savedbythebelle

     Happy sunny, yet freezing, Saturday everyone! Today's blog post was a highly requested one, and I only hope to cover this topic to the best of my ability. As you may have guessed from the title, this entry relates to mental illness and the stigmas our society places on those suffering with some form of it. According to Psychology Today, one in five Americans is living with a mental illness, yet many suffer in silence due to fear of judgement or ridicule. I'm not here to diagnose you, to tell you what to feel, or even share my own experiences - because as we all know, there is no "cookie-cutter" explanation of a mental disorder. Everybody interprets and reacts to traumatic events in their life differently. For example, following the death of a close friend,  Person A becomes isolated, introverted, and falls into a depressive state. Person B develops anger management issues and cannot hold stable relationships. Whereas Person C  grieves for the time being, but cont