Mental Illness

As many of your know, I was born with a mental illness: Bi-polar Disorder. Though I have no desire to be the 'poster child' for mental illness, I think it is important to share my issue with others. For the mentally ill, aside from the primary challenge of living in a world that stigmatizes those with mental illness, there are the added challenges of diagnosis (or misdiagnosis) and treatment (with the always present side-effects of medicinal treatments).

Actress Glenn Close, along with others, has launched a portal to increase understanding and acceptance of persons with mental illness. I applaud their initiative wholeheartedly. The more we learn the more likely we are to understand and accept the mentally ill. Insh'Allah.

The following is a quote from the new website:

"1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Yet, for many, the stigma associated with the illness, can be as great a challenge as the disease itself. This is where the misconceptions stop. This is where bias comes to an end. This is where we change lives. Because this is where we Bring Change 2 Mind."

Insh'Allah.