Self

A Brief History of Stigma: I am mentally ill and I am also... - circle of puzzle pieces

I Am Mentally Ill, and I Am Also… So Many Other Things

I am mentally ill, and I am also a lot of different things. But do people see all of those things, or mostly just the illness? We all have many different identities associated with all the social roles that we play; not identities as in personalities, but bundles of knowledge, expectations, patterns of behaviour that …

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What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Internal Family Systems Therapy

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is Internal Family Systems therapy. Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a type of psychotherapeutic approach that’s based on the idea that the mind is naturally multiple, and we all have a system of parts. It’s often used …

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What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Self-Verification Theory

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is self-verification theory. Self-verification theory comes from social psychology, and it says that we want other people to see us the way we see ourselves. That might seem self-obvious, but what’s interesting is that this applies even when …

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When you fail, are you a failure at a task? Or as a person?

When You Fail, Are You a Failure at a Task? Or as a Person?

Failure isn’t fun. There’s just no two ways about that. But what does that failure mean> I think that, particularly when mental illness is involved, it’s easy to leap from “I failed at [X]” to “I’m a failure.” But taking a step back, they’re not really the same thing. Fear of failure Fear of failure …

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Are you your illness? - graphic of woman with writing on her face

Are You Your Mental Illness?

Sometimes, as part of anti-stigma campaigns, you’ll hear that we shouldn’t say people are bipolar, schizophrenic, etc. The thinking goes that phrasing it this way puts people in a little box in which they’re primarily defined by their illness. Yet at the same time, you’ll find many bloggers referring to themselves as “I am bipolar.” …

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