Feelings, relations, emotions, stigma.

A yes to that @BobP .

I'm still on a journey to better deal with stigma related issues.

A key feature of my journey has been working communication. It can be the hardest thing to do when handling stigma. Conversely, when handling stigma communication counts.

And when I say communication I don't just mean dialogue or rhetoric but deeper communication like tone control, body language, internal narrative, social, organizational, political and spiritual.

I draw a lot on a wide array of role-models to work out who I'm trying to be. Other complicated people taking on complicated problems. Somewhat ironically, a lot of them are the voice's of the next generation (today's youth are the first generation of the "communication age" after all). There's plenty of them out there. I/you/they/we are legion.

Hi All, Thanks for the most welcomed response. Stigma, well yes, it's a biggie and can be difficult to deal with. Here is an extract from an article I wrote:

Hi All, Stigma is a biggie. when the meds put on weight, diabetes, or heart disease; make one restless and/or irritable; tired; get a bit drowsy; have clouded thinking; and memory problems, one or a mix of these can cause social stresses and have side-effects that can overwhelm. These are some causes that I find can generate stigma in others. "tread wearily upon my soul". Ouch! can hurt, and hurts deeply; sometimes not realized until years later.

I find that practicing the arts or listening to music help, and associating with like-minded people lessons the effect of stigma.

The lyrics of "Don't worry be happy" makes me feel OK.

My greatest aid is 'Know thy self, Be thyself, but above all else 'Be true to your self'.

Cheers

BobP