Posted 1-8-20
Hi all! This week will be full of short articles due to some work stuff that I need to accomplish. Next week you will get payback. 🙂 That is a promise and a threat. 😉
I was just thinking yesterday about stigma. I have mentioned it before, bot it is always present… Normally when I think of being stigmatized, it is regarding mental health. People, even in 2020, stigmatize mental health in a way that needs to be lovingly corrected. While there are some who have mental health concerns are: 1. Substance abusers 2. Use it as a crutch., these few are not only rare, they are more complex than labeling them that way. As you know from reading my 375+ posts and countless others, we really don’t understand the brain. What we tend to do is recoil from any behavior that we deem worthy of stigma. It may be “human/fallen nature” for some reason, but it is wrong and we need to figure our where we are guilty and address it. We are all in this big, spinning ball of rocks together. We are all made in the image and likeness of our Creator. There is no room for letting anyone slip through the cracks.
It seems like those with dementia fall into this stigma boat too. While it is not formally a mental illness, as such, it sure has a lot in common with the umbrella of conditions. It seems that our loved ones have a purple A on their chest, not signifying adultery as in the classic book, but signifying Alzheimer’s instead. People won’t visit, nor interact lest they “catch” the disease (not possible) or it offends our sensibilities. I don’t think, in most cases, it is malicious. It is just emotionally lazy in most cases. We weigh the situation and decide watching Property Brothers is easier than loving those who we subconsciously decide are too emotionally-wrenching to be worth our time.
The fix is simple: decide in your heart that everyone is worth the effort. Then, visit them. Love them. Invest in their lives. Serve them. Advocate for them.The struggle is real. NAMI’s website shows that they share much with our little nook of the internet. We/I need to do better. Sorry for the harsh tone, but I don’t know a more loving way to present this challenge. We just need to fix our take on it while we work on a cure.
#EndALZ
#NAMI
Update: Another good day for mom. 🙂 Things are stable and quite happy. Have you looked back at last year’s articles yet? 😉