Scared of being called an attention seeker for coming out about mental health

To cut a long story short: I have an eating disorder and as a result I'm very elusive and secretive. This pushes people away and makes them unsure about me.

I was wanting to do something like release a public blog post detailing some of the stuff I'm working towards in my recovery and the strength I've gained over the years...

However I'm scared of being laughed at, discriminated against (like if a future employer found it for whatever reason) or being called an attention seeker.
What do you think/suggest? Should I just forget it?

Reply 1

Sabertooth

I think that, sadly, there's still a lot of stigma against mental health conditions. However, writing something like that might help you get things straight in your head/feel better about not hiding things anymore. Have you considered doing it anonymously?

Reply 2

Liv1204

I have an eating disorder and write a blog, and I have to say I have found it so helpful to write like that

I've never had any negative comments personally, and although my employers don't know about my blog they do know about my mental health problems and have been consistently understanding and supportive. I have always been surprised by the positive comments I have had when I have shared my thoughts about my illness.

As Sabertooth says though, how would you feel trying it anonymously to start with, and then seeing how you feel about sharing it when you're ready?

Reply 3

Rum Ham

I felt the same when I first 'came out' with my mental disorders. My close family knew and a few friends and thankfully, they were all supportive and very few people treated me differently but my wider friends and family circle and acquaintances didn't know.

At first, I posted anonymously in MH related forums and even on TSR and I noticed there was pretty much nothing but support, both from fellow sufferers and non sufferers on the site. You do get the occasional troll comment like "have you tried just not worrying?", "here you are moaning about these 'conditions' when there are people dying out there of cancer", "you're only making this up so you don't have to work" and things like that and it can a bit little hard to deal with it at first but now I can take it with a pinch of salt.

A few months of doing this gave me the courage to come forward as me and not an anon poster and I even publicly posted about it on my FB page, where at the time, I had a lot of people I didn't really talk to any more and to my surprise, there was even more support. I got so many mails saying people we suffering from the same or similar problems but were too scared to come out with publicly and that me being open, gave them the courage to do so too. These were people who you would never think in a million years had a MH problem. They were beautiful, rich, in happy relationships etc so that goes to show anyone can suffer from a MH health problem. Those illnesses don't discriminate like we do.

I do recommend opening up about your MH problems but only when you are ready. When you do feel ready, I do agree starting small would be a good step such posting anonymously and stating your conditions and see the reception you get and if/when you feel ready, start a blog or come off as anon on sites but only if you feel ready. There's no need to push yourself. If do you start opening up, I hope it helps you like it did me. There's something about writing (or typing) out your problems that can go a long way and that can also help others suffering too.

I personally believe that being up front and honest is the only way to tackle mental health stigma. Its hard, I was so ashamed of my diagnoses, not just a little bit, I felt pure shame so opening up anonymous or as me, was a huge step at first but it got easier each time as I realised I had nothing to be ashamed about. Only those who don't regard MH conditions as real or serious are the ones who should be ashamed. Through being opening I have educated a lot of people close to me on actually what these conditions are and their misconceptions are now gone which overall is what has to happen to make MH illnesses recognised and remove them from being a taboo subject.

Reply 4

username2387497

As another sufferer of Mental Illnesses i also believe its better to come out with it!
It allows you then to seek help and you will get the support of others.
There are a lot of ignorant people out there who will say bad things about MH issues, but theyre just weak and are trying to bring you down to make themselves feel better. Ignore them and you have got the support from us all!
On here, in real life, whereever you go, you will have support through this!
Its nothing to be ashamed of and there are a lot of people out there who do suffer from these illnesses.
Your blog is a fantastic idea and will be read by many! Everyone will be inspired by it and id love to read it once you start it! :smile:

Reply 5

queen-bee

Original post by FireFreezer77

A very good response to the OP :smile:

Reply 6

username2387497

Original post by queen-bee

A very good response to the OP :smile:

Thankyou!

Greatly apprecited!

Reply 7

Kindred

Original post by Anonymous

If you want to do a blog then go for it. Make it anonymous and nobody will know it's you.
Fo the record employers can't treat you differently because of medical conditions and even if they may hold personal views about you they can't let it affect how they treat you in a work environment (if they did you could report them to HR). MH problems are classed as medical.

Unfortionately some people are going to judge you for it, but there will be others who are supportive and enouraging. You need to focus on those people. If you find a place on a site that deals a lot with mh issues you should get mostly support and anybody who attacks you will likely get attaced back.

Maybe start small and open up in a few posts here or on the Sane.org forums or something. (Sane is a mental health charity).

And if you want to open up to real people about it I suggest you start with somebody you really trust (like family or close friend) and take it from there. I started by opening up to a couple of close friends about my OCD and depression and from there it became more and more normal. I realised that it was a more common issue than I thought and that a few of my friends could sympathise despite not having ti to the same extent. Now i'm more confident to open up occasionally.

It depends on when you are ready so just take it at your own pace :smile: