Live the Life... Would you wear the shirt?

Hey, @MoonGal,

great post, thank you for sharing this. I would wear the one that says "It's Ok not to be Ok" because I think it is vague enough not to point directly to mental illness.

"Not Ok" could just refer to not being cool enough, not feeling great, not being accepted for who you are, etc. It would not necessarily mean you had a diagnosable illness. I think.

I am against the stigmatization of MI, but I wouldn't advertise that I had it, either. Just like I wouldn't walk around in a T-shirt that says "I have cancer."

@Sahara - good point about not walking around with "I have cancer" shirt... But perhaps, for me, and I am not saying I would wear one - our 'disability' (oh no there is another whole conversation) is silent, hidden -

I wonder though if we had a venue where a whole lot of us got together, like the Inviticus games or the paralympics - we might be inclined to be more 'out' there with our 'labels'?

I would wear a feminism shirt, an LGBT positive message shirt, a vegan shirt... to spread the message and to be seen so others who may be too frightened to come out can see there are others like them in the world.

It is activism/advocacy isn't it?

When I first got my diagnosis, I announced it to my friends on facebook.

Alot of them were like OMG i'm so sorry!

Some were like "umm i dont think you should post private information like that"

My reply: "why, I got nothing to feel bad about. It's not my fault"

But most of them were very accepting and understanding...

Looking back, I probably shouldnt have posted it. But I was wrestling with the acceptance factor so much that I decided to just let everyone know. Kinda like ripping off a bandaid...I felt if I just told everyone straight up and getg it over with, it would avoid many potentially awkward conversations in the future.

So considering I posted it on facebook..lol...Yeah, I'd wear a T-shirt, I'm not ashamed by it.