Hi @MoonGal@grubbytoes@Former-Member@Ginny@Rusalkin

I was given a hand out at a Mental Illness talk I attended today at the Albury Base Hospital.

It is important to stand up to stigma and remember the following:

"Stigma stops people from putting their hand up to say they are living meaningful, purposeful lives. This is to the detriment of those newly diagnosed seeking hope for recovery, and society at large."

"Media portrayal of mental illness also plays a major role in determining public attitudes towards mental illness. To influence public attitudes it is important to improve the way the issue is reported and represented in the media."

"The Australian Government's Mindframe initiative takes a comprehensive approach to this challenge. The Sane Media Centre and StigmaWatch programs are integral to the initiative ....much of SANE's work in this area is conducted behind the scenes, ensuring that stigmatising attitudes do not appear in the media in the first place".

"Reducing stigma isn't easy but it is 'the single most important barrier to overcome' according to the World Health Organisation. In fact Dr Norman Sartotius, the President of Association for the Advancement of Mental Health, has said: 'Experience from all over the world proves that it is not possible to build satisfactory mental health programs without serious and continuous effort to reduce or prevent stigmatisation of mental illness'."

Do not limit or lower your life expectations because you are told to do so. You deserve a quality of life that is at the level as anyone else regardless of your disability. Follow your dreams.