Let's end the Stigma

As Cozyhope turns two, we reflect on the poignant churn the world is going through, share what inspires us, and extend an invitation to you.

Despite relatively increased awareness and acceptance of the need for mental health services, many continue to struggle with accessing them due to a variety of challenges. One such challenge is the stigma that engulfs an already struggling person in shame. Why am I like this? Why can’t I do this? What’s wrong with me? Nothing is going to get better. What will others think of me? Will anyone understand? These questions continue to echo in our therapy spaces each day.

Images of rubble, people fleeing, children bleeding, buildings crumbling down, airstrikes, people being stuck, and refugees. All these and more such events have marked the past year. Refugees are people who have been forced to flee the place they belong to due to persecution, war, and violence. If your mind has ever been troubled by the images of refugees and their struggle, we invite you to consider this.

Many people, often people we know, have suffered abuse, bullying, neglect, and violence of various kinds in their lives. If they had no support around, no space or person that felt safe, experienced abuse for years, or the abuse was so large that they couldn’t make sense of it, with the feeling of being stuck with no escape, such experiences amount to trauma.

When people experience trauma in their lives, they become refugees too.

They disconnect and move away from where they belong - their bodies, identity, and values. It becomes excruciating and threatening to stay there and so, they distract, react and shut down. They dissociate to feel safe, however, there begins an equally powerful search to return to themselves, to where they belong, and to what they believe. They have been forced to flee too, due to persecution and violence. They recognize what they have lost. They grieve it, try their best to return to themselves, and not let anyone else – their partners, children, and others they love, ever become refugees. This, the journey of a refugee, is an extremely tough one. You flee your land, lose most things that gave you a sense of self, seek refuge in a new land, rebuild community, rebuild home, and reclaim your life while caring for others. While the struggles of people around us who have experienced trauma may not be as tangibly visible, there may be many broken dreams and much emotional rubble.

We see people like this each day. People who refuse to keep fleeing, people who want to reconnect with themselves and live by what they believe in. We are inspired each day as we accompany their journeys of breaking the trauma cycle, for themselves and others they love. We call them heroes, heroes who are willing to dig through the rubble and do the work of calling their bodies home again. If you understand what courage this involves, join hands with us in advocating for and accompanying them – people who seek therapy or choose any way to break the trauma cycle. Let us together end the shame and the stigma, as these are heroes who get their hands dirty while navigating their fears, to make the world a better place.  

As we turn two, we at Cozyhope extend our deepest gratitude to the amazing people who choose to be our clients. The heroes who dare to be vulnerable, who dare to look within, to come back home, and rebuild a new one.