I think that we should give attention to any movement, effort or initiative that functions to improve the experience of those who fall ill with mental illness and of those in their support structure. Whether it is achieved through building a sense of community, generating awareness, tackling stigma or coaching consumers through the medical system, it is a great thing.
This 'recovery movement' seems to be doing a good job of helping consumers process and overcome their diagnoses, as well as providing a launching pad for their recovery. Talking about it more will only help to create more awareness for both the movement itself and why it started in the first place.
My efforts to volunteer as a speaker for AMI-Quebec and to contribute to Mikesstory.com are entirely for this purpose. I believe that the strongest voices available to advocate for mental illness are (and must continue to be) consumers who are living well in recovery. Those who have been down the dark path of depression, who have experienced the extremes of mania, the confusion and frustration of schizophrenia and the shock of stigma, have a deeper understanding of what living with mental illness truly means.
I would argue that we also have a clearer sense of what changes, in the health-care system and indeed in society, must take place before we will feel the same level of care and respect as our friends and family members who fall ill to a more ‘acceptable’ illness, like cancer.

Be well,
Jason Finucan

Once I had taken the journey outlined in the first part of this article, I can honestly say that it was no longer hard for me to talk about my bipolar disorder to either friends or co-workers. This was a new and liberating place for me to be, especially considering that for the first several years of dealing with mental illness I barely spoke about it beyond those closest to me. Part of that was confusion and lack of knowledge; I didn't want to talk about something that I was still totally unfamiliar with.
Once I educated myself on bipolar specifically, and mental illness in general, I started to form the opinions that led to me speaking openly not only within my circle of friends and co-workers, but also publicly through AMI-Quebec and now on Mikesstory.com. I now find myself discussing it in much the same way I would the fact that I am engaged, that I am a skydiver or that I love 9-ball and play competitively - that is, I tell those who show interest in me and my life to that level, and/or those for whom the fact that I have bipolar is relevant. Otherwise, I don't.
I feel that this kind of openness is a major key, perhaps even the single most important element in progressing social attitudes toward mental illness to where they need to be, where they should be.

Be well,
Jason Finucan

I would like to offer my experience in dealing with this difficult challenge.
At first, I really was uncomfortable in discussing or even revealing my illness. I was still trying to accept it for what it was, and come to terms with the reality that I couldn't beat it on my own. For me, as for many others with a mental illness, medication was necessary.
I learned some key lessons between the time my first symptoms appeared in 2002-03 and my return to balance and health in mid 2005. For me, it came down to two simple questions:

1) How do you think and feel about your illness specifically and mental illness in general?

2) How does the person you want to discuss it with feel and think about these topics?

The former is the really important one, because if you feel guilt, confusion, anger, stigma, etc. about your illness and you are misinformed, how can you possibly speak about it? That's where I was for a while, so naturally I couldn't / wouldn't talk openly about it.
The hardest part for me to learn was that even after I went through the long and difficult path to that healthy place of acceptance, knowledge, awareness and perspective, it still wasn't enough for everyone. Even though I saw my illness as in fact physical (a problem located in my brain), and I understood that the term 'mental illness' does not equate with 'emotional illness', it was clear that others may take ages to come to this realization, while some never will.
Those people may be your colleagues, your friends, or one of your family members. It is difficult, but it is beyond your control. In my case there is one or two in each of those groups.
I was encouraged to find that once I reached a solid foundation in my own thinking, most of the people that I spoke to about it came to a place of understanding. Most people know instinctively that social attitudes towards mental illness are archaic and narrow, and if not they are open to understanding this. They want to feel included in your experience, and understanding what you are dealing with is part of that.
So for the most part, it came down to me. Once I reached a healthy level of acceptance and spoke comfortably, knowledgeably and plainly about my illness, I saw that most of my listeners were eager and positive. The others, well, I just learned to accept their limitations and I live with the hope that as long as I remain consistent in my message, they may come around.
That has been my experience, and I hope it can help you in yours.

Be well,
Jason Finucan