Hey Wil,
I am not sure if you will ever get a chance to read this but hopefully you will. Thank you for sharing your story! Mental health issues and the stigma surrounding them need to be brought out into the light every second of the day until no one feels ashamed and they get help.
My son Jacob suffered from ADHD and was shy. He was a gifted learner, funny and athletic but his shyness and what we believe to be undiagnosed anxiety led to some depression. Those circumstances led him to self medicate where all those worries fell away and his confidence bloomed. What he did not realize was that his self medication would take him from drug use, to misuse and end in a drug addiction.
The stigma was everywhere and it started before there was any real issues. It started when he was about ten or eleven years old. We sat in our general practitioners office with Jacob, explaining the situation. He suggested that we start him on medicine prescribed by him. Our doctor said; “You don’t want to go somewhere and have him officially diagnosed, what if he runs for office one day or wants to be the president of the United States, you don’t want that on his record”. We thought that was logical and like your parents, did what we that was correct and did the best we could.
If i could go back in time I would as would millions of others. I share our story and Jacob’s to help bring awareness and end the stigma associated with mental health and addiction.
Thank you again for telling people it is okay to be different, there is nothing to be ashamed of, you are loved.
Love and peace,
Tom.