Breaking Taboo …. Mental Illness

When we hear the word taboo, most of us know this relates to a scandalous topic that the general population does not want to talk about.  Taboo is just that; a topic or practice that has long been forbidden or is uncomfortable for people to think and/or talk about.

Of all the taboo topics in the world I think mental illness wins first place for the longest running taboo subject of all time.  We have evolved and come around in matters of sex, gender identity and homosexuality but mental illness……that’s still something most people would rather keep locked up in the dark taboo closet because it is just too uncomfortable to get in to.

Mental illness is not just the crazy killer type depicted in Hollywood movies or the crazy guy on the corner yelling at the air.  Many times it something more miniscule like anxiety or depression.  Just like back in the 80’s when people thought AIDS was spread by air or touch, mental illness suffers this same ignorance, this same mis-education of sorts.

Guest Post – My Hometown – Fresno, CA

Well what can I say I live directly in the middle of the state of California good old Fresno or what some refer to as the pit or armpit of the state depending on the mood you are in that day about living here.  I have lived here the better part of almost four decades.  I was raised here, left for a bit as a young adult and then came back because it was familiar and and everyone I knew was here.

You know as kid you never really think much about where you live because hey there are much better things going on then the boring adult thoughts of where you live and why you live there.  It’s a fairly large city with half a million people roaming around at any given moment and because there is such a big agriculture presence here there is also a lot of diversity, we are primarily Hispanic and White but we also have a large African-American, Asian and Hmong culture too.  People are of all different colors, languages, styles, and ghetto status here.  It’s like if Los Angeles were to have a baby that would be Fresno.