⚠️ Trigger Warning: This article contains discussion of serious mental illness and suicide. Please exercise discretion and take care of yourself while reading.
Stigma around mental illness is more than hurtful—it is deadly. In a powerful lived-experience story for One Mind, Jon Nelson shares how stigma compounded his decade-long battle with treatment-resistant depression and how his eventual participation in a deep brain stimulation clinical trial saved his life.
“The stigma of mental illness provides a glimpse into the worst parts of humanity. I have zero time for that. Good humans are all I have time for.”
Nelson draws a stark comparison between how society treats “acceptable” diseases like cancer or Parkinson’s—where empathy and care are the norm—versus mental illness, where judgment, shame, and exclusion often dominate. As he puts it:
“A person gets a disease they didn’t ask for. Society judges you. Society shames you… You avoid seeking treatment so you aren’t labeled and ashamed even more. You die.”
Key Takeaways
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Stigma kills. People with serious mental illness (SMI) often avoid treatment due to shame and discrimination, worsening outcomes and leading to preventable deaths.
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Lived experience matters. Nelson emphasizes that those who have walked through mental illness should have “the most important seat at the table” in shaping healthcare and research.
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Empathy saves lives. From scientists and clinicians to caregivers and peers, acts of kindness and understanding were critical in his recovery journey.
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The choice is ours. As Nelson states plainly: “Choose prejudice, discrimination and the deaths these perpetuate, or choose empathy and kindness.”
Nelson’s story is both a call to action and a reminder that culture change is possible. Each of us can help dismantle stigma by listening, supporting, and treating mental illness as the brain disease it is—no different from any other condition that deserves care and compassion.
Read Jon Nelson’s full story here: This Injustice is Deadly—But Your Choices Can Turn the Tide.
