#EndTheStigma

[00:00:00] How can you be a better ally and support in the fight against mental health stigma? Tune in to find out. Hello and welcome to MoMo634, the Daily Podcast Chalk Full of Faithful Inspiration and Motivation. MoMo634, Motivational Moments, just for today. Welcome to a new episode.

[00:00:45] If you enjoyed this podcast, please like, follow, subscribe, review and or share with friends. Thank you! As has been mentioned frequently on this podcast, I Home Schooled My Three Children. Though they are now grown, I still participate in a few discussion groups online as my

[00:01:06] way to give back to the Home Schooling community. Recently, someone posted a situation about a child with a focus issue. As I have seen in a number of instances before, both in the Home Schooling community and outside of it, with both neurotypical and neurodivergent communities, immediately people

[00:01:26] began saying, in the strongest possible terms. No medication ever! With force equal to fade on away with a wire hanger in Mommy dearest. While I have recounted my own issues with medication and its side effects, and the understanding

[00:01:45] that meds are a very personal choice, I feel like I need to address the packaging this sentiment comes wrapped in. If a child has type 1 diabetes, do we withhold insulin? Trust me when I tell you, there is a world of difference between type 1, which is autoimmune,

[00:02:07] and type 2, which is generally lifestyle related. And even with the unfair stigma type 1 children receive, no one screams they won't medicate their child. The same is true of other illnesses of the body. So why do we draw the line at issues of mind and mood?

[00:02:27] Again, I will say it's the stigma. So let's address it. If mood disorders and mental health conditions are because brain chemicals are out of balance, why would bringing them back into alignment be an issue? The pill isn't an automatic happy pill.

[00:02:45] Dosages need adjusting, and sometimes many different medications need to be tried to get it just right. There's no stigma in taking a blood pressure medication or something to address chronic migraines or asthma. We don't like the label crazy, which is a rude moniker to begin with.

[00:03:07] That's a societal issue, not a medical issue. In fact, it is the reason some 25 years ago I decided I would no longer be silent in the face of glaring misinformation and hurtful comments. Some well-intentioned, some not.

[00:03:27] I would be the person I had wished I had had in my corner. Someone to speak up and educate others and be the someone others could confide in and talk to without judgment. I'm not a clinician, and I have opinions about meds, both pro and con.

[00:03:46] I'm also a huge fan of complementary medicine and holistic alternatives. That said, remember the episode if you can be anything in the world be kind. I'd also refer you to the episodes on how to support someone struggling with depression,

[00:04:06] and the three things you really don't want to say to someone dealing with depression. Matthew 912 says, on hearing this, Jesus said, it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Let the practitioners do their thing in concert with their own patients as partners.

[00:04:28] Let us be the support cast and also educate others when we hear misinformation and stigma. The old schoolhouse rock model was knowledge is power and it fuels our meme for today. And you don't know something become informed. Knowledge is a tool we can wield confidently, daily.

[00:04:52] In what ways have you helped derail misinformation and stigma? chime in in the comments below. Thanks for listening to Momo 634 motivational moments just for today. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe, give it a like or review, tell a friend, and follow

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