I bought into the stigmas about the mentally ill, until I became one of them

<p>"Bipolar runs in my family, so I knew the harsh realities of this untreated illness. A family member faked his own death after a counterfeiting spending spree. My grandfather told people that I would die in a car accident, and he would take my body up to the mountain and bring me back to life.</p> <p>When I was younger, surrounded by this family chaos, it was easy to tell myself, 'They are crazy!' I bought into many of the stigmas of mental illness — that those with mental illness are unpredictable, incompetent, and have trouble holding down a job.</p> <p>I thought I was different. I was married to a hospital CEO, attended charity events, lived in a beautiful home, and had three healthy children. Yet, life felt unbearable. The stigmas around mental illness kept me from getting the help I desperately needed, so I continued to suffer in silence."</p> <p><a href="https://www.sonjawasden.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.sonjawasden.com%252F%26data%3D04%257C01%257C%257Cf332548efe99450630d708d91086c18b%257C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%257C1%257C0%257C637558993224233366%257CUnknown%257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%253D%257C1000%26sdata%3DBSNXFTLecbKOhKUPHHz6vq13LS%252BMCgJtYqZmqTUINnA%253D%26reserved%3D0&source=gmail&ust=1623408427854000&usg=AFQjCNF74AD7DtPYw0X0EJPo53lw2p6PyA"> Sonja Wasden</a> is a mental health advocate and co-author of <a href="https://animpossiblelife.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fanimpossiblelife.com%252F%26data%3D04%257C01%257C%257Cf332548efe99450630d708d91086c18b%257C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%257C1%257C0%257C637558993224243332%257CUnknown%257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%253D%257C1000%26sdata%3DKbDe%252BW23w%252FWL6XBODYfdAk3KLfS