Mental Health Privilege Checklist (neurotypical privilege through the lens of mental illness)
This is compiled from several sources on neurotypical privilege as well as my own experiences with mental illness. I have attempted to relate it directly to mental illness. Some of these privileges overlap with being neurotypical in other ways (non-autistic, non-cognitively-disabled, etc) and being privileged in other ways (race, gender, etc), so it’s just a rough sketch.
- When I am seeking a job, I do not have to worry that my mental state/type will be used as a reason not to hire me.
- When I have a job, I do not have to worry that I will be fired due to my mental state/type causing me to miss work.
- When I am in school, I do not need deadline extensions, alternate assignments, or other accommodations due to my mental state/type.
- When I am at work, I do not have to keep silent about my mental state/type for fear of losing my job.
- When I go to a social event, I do not have to worry about potential triggers or prepare a contingency plan for what happens if I am put in a state of being unable to function.
- I can leave my house any time I am physically up for it, without having to consider the effects on my mental state/type.
- If someone touches me non-sexually and non-violently without permission, it may annoy me but will not hinder my ability to function for hours, days, or weeks.
- If I feel an emotion daily or near-daily, I can be sure that most of the people I know will understand that emotion and not mistake it for something else.
- I do not have to avoid certain movies or shows because exposure to them will hinder my ability to function for hours, days, or weeks.
- People who are like me in the way they think and experience emotion are portrayed in a wide range of personalities.
- People who are like me in the way they think and experience emotion are not automatically treated as dangerous or broken due to their mental state/type.
- When I want to avoid an activity that I don’t like, people don’t try to talk me into it to “help me get over it.”
- I do not have to fear being preyed upon due to my mental state/type.
- I can share my life with an animal companion without my ability to care for them being called into question due to my mental state/type.
- If I am not feeling well and decide to stay in bed, I will likely be believed and not scolded.
- I do not have to worry that my mental state/type will make me unable to do household chores.
- I do not have to worry that if my house is messy, people will take it as a sign that I should be locked up or have my legal rights taken away.
- If I share a strong emotion, I am more likely to receive empathy than for people to dismiss my emotion as ‘not real’ due to my mental state/type.
- If I have a medical problem, I do not worry that my doctor will dismiss it as part of my mental state/type.
- If I am bullied or abused, people will not assume that my mental state/type means I am at least partially to blame, or that the abuse would stop if I tried harder to behave like someone else.
- People of my mental state/type are not generally considered burdensome to our families or to tax-payers.
- I do not have to fear being locked up “for my own good.”
- I do not have to be careful with my honesty for fear that others will call the authorities on me, despite not breaking laws or causing others harm.
- People like me in mental state/type are shown as desirable for romantic and familial relationships.
- If I am murdered, my murderer will not be let off because my murder was deemed “an act of mercy,” or given a light sentence because of the stress caused by interacting with me.
- I do not have to fear that important decisions about my life will be made by others who are considered more qualified based on their mental state/type.
- If someone of my mental state/type can do something well, I will not be punished for being unable to do the same thing well or at all.
- People do not constantly tell me that I need to work on the things which I am very bad at, at the expense of things which I am good at and enjoy doing.
- I do not have to worry that my mental state/type will be used to invalidate any argument I make.
- People do not automatically assume that the best place for people with my mental state/type to live is an institution.
- The majority of people who make the laws of my nation share my mental state/type.
- My family, friends, and significant others are not told that I am incapable of relating to other human beings.
- People do not assume that living in the same household as me is inherently “tragic” or “devastating,” or that my family, friends and partner will need a support group to deal with living with me.
- When prospective parents and others speak of wanting a “healthy child,” I know that they mean a child with my mental state/type.
- When I say that someone seems like they have the same mental state/type as me, that is never taken as an insult.
- If I have a negative trait such as carelessness or selfishness, it won’t be attributed to my mental state/type.
- If I have sex with many people or few/no people, it won’t be attributed to my mental state/type.
- I know my legal protections will not be taken away due to my mental state/type.
- I do not have to avoid things I like doing because I do not have the mental energy for them.
- I do not have to disclose my mental state/type to explain my behavior, needs, or emotions, because people already think they make sense.
- I do not have to worry that my mental state/type will lead to people disliking me.
- I do not have to worry that people are attracted to me due to their perception that my mental state/type will make me easier to control.
- I do not have to worry that my mental state/type will be a barrier to having or adopting children, or keeping custody of my children.
Neurotypical Privilege (autistic lens)
Neurotypical Privilege (mental illness lens, similar to this one)
Mental Health is a Privilege