The fight against the stigma surrounding mental illness took to Twitter last week when women started using #MedicatedandMighty to prove that accepting medical treatment for a mental illness is not the same as giving in to it.
The movement began when Erin Jones, a mother of four and popular blogger who frequently writes about being on the autism spectrum and battling mental illnesses, posted a selfie to Facebook with her prescriptions for antidepressants. In her post Jones wrote, “Sometimes, folks, we just need a little help.”
So this also happened yesterday. I have tried living this life without prescription help. It seems to have me on top of…
Posted by Mutha Lovin’ Autism on Wednesday, September 2, 2015
After Jones’s Facebook post went viral with over 1,000 likes and shares, she started the hashtag #MedicatedandMighty to encourage other women to share their stories and to open up the conversation about mental illness. Despite the fact that one in 10 people in the United States are on some form of antidepressant medication, the subject of mental health is one that is often swept under the rug and ignored. Jones’s hashtag broke through that barrier however, and soon it was trending, as Twitter users proudly snapped selfies featuring their own prescriptions.
Many users expressed their frustration with the attitudes about mental health being treated with medication by writing, “You wouldn’t tell someone with cancer not to take chemo, don’t tell someone with a mental illness not to take their medication.” Others took a stand by saying, “Asking for help is not a weakness” and “Antidepressants have saved my life.”
Mental health is a topic that is especially important for women and mothers, as one in four women in the United States is said to be on some type of antidepressant medication. After the influx of support she received from moms and non-moms alike, Jones said of the responses, “…we’ve been private about it for far too long. It’s time for this discussion. We are living our lives right alongside of you and we need your support and respect. That can only come through transparency about who we really are.”
Cover image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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