The new groundbreaking book Coming Out Proud to Erase the Stigma of Mental Illness: Stories and Essays of Solidarity edited by Patrick W. Corrigan, Jon E. Larson, and Patrick J. Michaels has just been released.
This book is a collection of personal reflections by people with mental illness, telling their stories of coming out and the lessons they learned from their journey. Included are diverse stories from people all around the world, comprising of people from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Research states that one of the most effective ways to erase public stigma is through hearing first-hand experiences of people telling their stories of recovery. Being in the closet with mental health experiences often leads to shame while coming out replaces this shame with a sense of authority and empowerment. These stories of solidarity illustrates the fact that people with even the most serious of mental illnesses recover. I'm honored to have been invited to share my own personal and professional experiences with living with depression in this collection - and urge readers of my blog to add this important work to their must-read books.
As Dr. Patrick Corrigan and his team at the National Consortium on Stigma and Empowerment state the goal of a book like this is "not less stigma, but more affirmation."
