Things Worth Considering

A few decades ago when someone was diagnosed with cancer, people as they shared the news would lower their voice and whisper the word cancer. as though it was dirty and contagious. Fast forward a couple of decades and HIV/AIDS would become a widely stigmatized illness, forcing those with the disease into marginalized existences including, poverty, medical and housing crises. Paralleling but dating back centuries, Mental health has always had an attached stigma. Those with Mental illnesses or disorders face a lived in silence to avoid facing the stigma carried by society's attitudes. The massive uphill battle fought by HIV and Mental Health advocates and activists are making a difference in shifting our awareness to let go of our attitudes but it is not easy. Marginalization is still a reality for patients and all that it entails. Now with Covid-19 we face adding one more illness to our list of Their problem, not mine. This episode challenges that we are missing the point.