End the Stigma - Will Mental Health Awareness Month Herald the Start of a new Paradigm

Today is May Day which, across Europe and the world, holds different levels of significance from a day of labour rights through to new beginnings.

It is also the start of Mental Health Awareness month.

One of the things that often falls first, when we have metal 'ill' health is our self esteem. This is often because of two main things: the nature of the illness itself and the stigma associated with it telling us we are in someway less.

For me, everytime I had to battle with a major depressive cycle I would also have to battle with the thoughts that I would be discovered, that people would then know I was "flawed", and they would know I shouldn't be a leader.

This was especially the case when I entered the boardroom. In my early 30's, surrounded by an all male board, the very thought of letting the other members of the board know I was bipolar was terrifying in itself. It had been a battle as a woman to stand solidly as Executive Chairman of the board, to show a kink in the armour would be career suicide. At least that is how it felt to me.

Funnily enough the business hugely benefited from my hypo-manic episodes, I was able to work hours that would honestly send the average person into a physical breakdown from lake of sleep, let alone the mental impact. I had been so caught up though that I missed the fact we were leading into the Easter break. The sudden depressive low that hit me in that moment of realisation was so hard that it was a manic low.

I was suicidal.

Yet at no point did anyone on the board or even in the company find out. Only my closest family knew. I was able to roll on through at the other-side of the holiday like everything was fine in my world.

Strangely all the signs are there. They are on display but people don't know what to look for, they don't know how to deal with it. It is for reasons such as this that we really need to make mental health more than a tick box in business, we need to ensure it is discussed and that people are trained to recognise the signs.

Importantly we need to do this so that people don't feel like that 'fraud'. Like they are 'less' due to mental ill health. I felt all these things and more. What would happen if they found out that 'I wasn't really good enough'?

None of this is true BUT the feelings were implanted from am early age due to societal dictates that someone who has a mental health disorder (like bipolar) is not enough. The stigma means that not only do those of us with mental health disorders have to manage them we feel the need to add a layer of secrecy to who we are.

What I have learnt on the whole is that:

• I am good enough. 
• I am a leader. 
• I am strong. 
• I am not my label of "bipolar".
• I am ME.

It is important that we start to make a real change. Let's be more open about mental health and work together to remove the stigma. Let's make it more than a tick box exercise at work and in schools. The more open we the more people will know they are good enough.

#mentalhealthawarenessmonth #EndtheStigma #LinkedInLearning

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Maggie Georgopoulos is a champion for Mental Health. As a speaker and author she uses her personal experiences to help raise awareness for mental health issues in the workplace and the community at large and help work toward creating a 'safe' space for people with mental health issues.