We “will not go gentle into that good night.”

It’s 💯% true that those of us with a mental illness matter. ALL of us are equally as worthy of love and inclusion in society as the more well-adjusted and mentally healthy. Even those who are homeless or imprisoned-tossed aside like yesterday’s garbage.

It’s important that we talk about mental illness instead of hiding it behind socially constructed walls of shame and fear of marginalization.

It’s important that we ALL pay attention to warning signs and do all we can in a broken system to get those in a mental health crisis the help they need. It saves lives AND “almighty dollars.”

It is important that those of us with mental illnesses address our ghosts, traumas, symptoms, maladaptive behaviors, and root causes as best we can in a broken system.

We matter. We are precious. And we need to keep beating the drum for equality, respect, a system that affords universal access to treatment, decriminalization of our conditions, and housing until ignorant, fearful, bullying, and oppressive people in power get the message.

We may be amongst the most vulnerable of our society. But we are not weak. And we are 25% of the population.

We “will not go gentle into that good night.”