Invisible Chains

When we look at our newborn child, we see hope for the future and infinite possibilities for their life. I did not see mental illness for my son. I did not want to be the mother of a child with a mental illness. I wanted to run away from it as I had wanted to run away from all of the symptoms he had displayed in the past, but I couldn’t. I needed to embrace and except it. Mental illness is an intimidating disease that people shy away from, but it is just that, a disease that can be treated. 
 
It is a difficult illness because we can’t see it or often even diagnose it.  Everyone wants to be
able to look at their illness on an x-ray or a scan and say, “there it is.” People with mental illness are denied that. There isn’t anything to look at and see, to touch or quantify, it’s just there. We need to realize that mental illness is an illness and we all need to learn more about it for the sake of our
future generations. 

Mental Health America’s motto is, “The invisible chains of misunderstanding and discrimination
continue to bind people with mental illnesses and addictions.” We need to help people break free of these bonds so that they can get the help and support needed in a world where mental illness is not something you hide from or are embarrassed by, but rather something that is only an illness in need of a treatment.