When I wrote the article ‘Eliminating the Word Schizophrenic’ I stated that schizophrenia was the most stigmatized of all the mental illnesses. Somehow, I forgot to consider dementia as the stigma that it bears runs much deeper than schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression combined.

Loving someone with a mental illness can be painful and confusing. For every person with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder or PTSD, there will almost always be someone in their lives who loves them. And it’s fair to say that the loved one's suffering is as real and true as the person with the mental illness.

Have you ever made up a white lie or two to cover up a gaping hole in your resume where a psychiatric hospitalization was considered to be your primary employment? Have you ever told acquaintances that your fascination with mental health was born due to ‘some close personal friends and family members who have struggled?’ Have you ever lied about having a mental illness? I have.