Overcoming mental health stigma is not something I would have thought possible. It's such a pervasive and negative force that it can seem insurmountable. Yet, upon reflection, I know it's not affecting me like it once did.

Is it mental health stigma? This is a great question to ask ourselves as not everything we encounter is. When we have mental health issues, we can be hypersensitive to any sort of situation that seems to involve our mental health or mental health in general. With this can come the sense that many things are a manifestation of stigma. It's important to recognize, however, that no everything is mental health stigma, even if what we're facing is negative.

When we're combatting mental health stigma, it's important to be as inclusive as possible. One of the ways we fight stigma is to talk about or try to convey the idea that our experiences don't have to fit in a box and that there isn't any shame in not having everything together, in being "messy." But does this saturation of messages mean it's not okay to be, for lack of a better word, "neat?"

We need a mental health stigma holiday survival guide to make it through this time of year. Learn how to deal with mental health stigma during the holidays here.

We might not think about it explicitly, but responses to mental health stories can be shaped by stigma. It can be easy to read through posts online or hear someone speak about his or her mental health experiences and question the validity of them. In particular, in a day and age where people can present themselves as anything online, questioning can be good. But, it's important to consider how stigma may be shaping our responses to mental health stories.

Recognizing the only ones we can truly charge are ourselves, it seems it shouldn't be so difficult to stop self-stigma. On the contrary, it can be very challenging. If you are having trouble putting an end to mental health self-stigma, don't worry. It's not just you.

Tragedy can bring people together and cause them to rally together for a cause, including mental health. While coming to arms to foster awareness is great, when we do so is also important. Don't wait until tragedy strikes to fight mental health stigma.

The stigma related to suicide is often thought of as a uniform idea, but it's important to think about the different ways it manifests so we can better understand how to approach it. Does it look different for men and women, for instance? And if so, how? (Note: This post contains a trigger warning.)

As a form of expression, writing can help us understand the world around us and our experiences, including experiences with mental health. Many mental health advocates talk about journaling specifically as a tool for mental health recovery. But, journaling isn't the only form of writing beneficial to mental health.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing enough to fight mental health stigma. In the mental health community, one of the main things we talk about is combatting stigma. So much so that I'd argue there's this sense of pressure to always be going up against it as well. While fighting mental health stigma is important, pressure of any kind can be harmful.