The Stigma of Depression and All Mental Illness Needs to End Now, and It Ends by Talking About It!

       When others find out I have major depressive disorder, they must look at my life and wonder what reason I have for being depressed. Well, I think that is why they call it mental illness; it comes from totally irrational thinking. If it made sense it would not be an "illness."  

        I am your typical, middle-class American. I am a man in my late 30s, married for 10 years (at the time of this writing) to an amazing woman. I have three beautiful daughters, and a yellow lab. We live in a medium sized house, which I am proud to call my home. All I am missing is the white picket fence.  

       I worked as a hospice chaplain for eight years, counseling terminally ill individuals and their families. I graduated law school in 2017 and landed a nice job working for a small law firm as an associate attorney. So what do I have to be depressed about? 

       Well, when I think about it rationally, I have no reason to be depressed. I have everything a man could want in life. And yet I have been battling depression since I was a teenager. Very few people know about my battle with depression. My immediate family and a couple of very close friends know, but otherwise I have not talked about it openly. (I realize this blog changes who knows about my illness). I was told by someone who I very much respect, and whose opinion means a lot to me, that I should be careful who I talk to about my illness because of the stigma attached to it. But maybe one of the reasons there is so much stigma surrounding mental illness is that no one talks about it. The only time we hear about mental illness is when there is a school shooting or some other terrorist attack, and the media reveals that the person involved was treated for mental illness and was on such and such medications. There is no conversation about people who live normal, ordinary lives, who are productive members of society, and also suffer from mental illness. That is why I am making this blog. 

       I want to show how normal mental illness can look like. I want to show that in spite of mental illness, or maybe even because of it, a person can live a very successful life. I want to show everyone with mental illness they have nothing to fear by talking about. And I want to show the world they have nothing to fear from people who have mental illness. 

       I will not talk only about depression on this blog. The point of this blog is to show how normal people with mental illness are. So a lot of this blog is going to talk about the normal things I experience on a daily basis. Sometimes I'll discuss topics regarding the law. Sometimes I will discuss my family. Sometimes I will talk about the random thoughts I have. With this blog I plan on being completely candid, completely genuine. I have no intention of putting on a fake self to impress anyone. I have masked who I am for far too long. I am tired of living in the shadows and not letting my real self show. You can come here to see a completely authentic person. 

       I am here to answer any question you might have, about mental illness, about my life, advice you might need, anything. My goal is to answer every single question that is placed in the comments of this blog. You can also email me directly at brandonlparks12@gmail.com where I will answer whatever questions you may want to send my way. If you will join me on this journey, together we will confront the stigma of mental illness. Thank you.

-Brandon Parks