What do the prejudice and discrimination look like?
Some of it is due to a lack of education not understanding that people don’t bring this on themselves. I am also struck, in a negative sense, by people with religious views that if only they had prayed more, had accepted God more, or had believed more, then they wouldn’t have had this illness. I was staggered by the anger and the certainty of a particularly anti-science view of mental illness, reminiscent of the theories of mental illness from medieval times. What advice do you give people about going public? I encourage them to be circumspect about the consequences for them and to make sure they have enough support to do it. I had enormous support from my colleagues at Johns Hopkins and from my husband, family, and friends. Even under those circumstances, it can be hard. What is it like for you to be a role model for others with these conditions? It can be extremely rewarding and disconcerting. People don’t see you in the same way as they did before. Sometimes strangers pigeonhole you
