Mental Health Privilege Checklist

-My mind is my own. I do not share it with anyone. I am not beleaguered by relentless and intrusive thoughts, delusions, or voices. My agency is not usurped. I conjure ideas of my own conscious volition. I am not forced to share a space in my head with a vicious, self-deprecating presence. I alone plant ideas in my head, and the consequences of their germination are within my control. My version of reality is not twisted, warped, or horrific.

-I have to use drugs in order to feel like I am under the influence of a mind-altering substance. It is my choice as to whether or not I will bug out, experience paranoia, or be out of touch with reality.

-I will not react to mundane events as though they have posed a crisis situation. My moods will not be so incapacitating that I am unable to get out of bed every day or perform basic self-care.

-If I am unable to attend work or class due to illness, I will not be accused of laziness or lack of willpower.

-Schools become less safe for me because somebody else has brought a gun to one of them, not because people will connect the atrocity that has occurred with who I am. I don't lay awake at night terrified about the implications that one person's actions can have on peoples' attitudes towards me or my ability to access care. I don't have to witness an acrimonious presence on social media sites completely accosting people who might have shared struggles that are similar to mine while simultaneously fearing that I will be lumped into the same category as them. I don't have to worry that one incident is going to reinforce damaging stereotypes about me or that the social and political climate is going to become even more hostile to my existence, through no fault of my own.

-I can interact with people and not feel like I am going to die, that they want to kill me, or that I want to kill myself. I do not perceive my mistakes or accidents as grounds for persecution. I do not view social interaction as a breeding ground for a highly orchestrated plot to attack me, and thus, I do not roam the world withdrawn and terrified.

-No one will blame me for not being well, and providing me with care will not be seen as burdensome. My medical needs will not be viewed as a character defect, a sign of laziness, or a personal fault. When I am unwell, my loved ones will be kind to me. Paying for what I need in order to live and function will be seen as a no-brainer.

-There is a greater chance that disability services will recognize my struggles and provide resources and services that accommodate them adequately.

-When I reach out for help, I am encouraged to tell my doctors everything they need to know so that I receive the best and most tailored form of care possible. I don't have to censor pivotal pieces of information so that my right to self-determination and direct involvement in the treatment process won't be curtailed. When I lay everything out on the table, I can say with a degree of certainty what is going to happen to me or what the consequences will be. And I will never, ever regret asking for help. I won't be kicked out of school, subjected to a mandatory evaluation, involuntarily hospitalized, or forced to undergo electrocution or chemical/medical regimens that I am adamantly opposed to. I will never have to choose between getting better and getting thrown into a cage.

-I can divulge a fundamental facet of who I am without worrying that people are going to be afraid of being around me, being alone with me, leaving their children with me, or being driven places by me.

-If I am fully conscious and a legal adult, it is highly improbable that my medical autonomy will be rescinded or that my desires will be blatantly disrespected.

-Clinical terms that pertain to my state of being will not be used with levity or worse, interchangeably with terms that carry damning connotations, such as when people substitute the word "psychosis" for "psychopath."

-I will only be subjected to imprisonment and treated like an inmate if I hurt another living soul.

-I don't have to take extra precautionary steps or excessively sugarcoat my demeanor in order to prove that I am not a threat to anyone else. If I hurt myself and no one else, people aren't going to automatically assume that I am just as capable of doing the exact opposite. I do not cease from raising my voice even when my anger is justified in order to dispel the myths that I will raise my hand, as well.

-If I am hospitalized, I don't have to look into the eyes of the nurses and feel like I am wasting their precious time or resources...and I can count on them to not share those sentiments.

-If I inflict bodily harm upon myself by tanning, smoking cigarettes, eating poorly, playing sports, or speeding in a car, no one is going to call me selfish or label me as an attention seeker. No one is going to suggest that I am not worth helping because I brought my predicament upon myself. If I am hospitalized due to my injuries, people will visit me and give a damn. If I die due to my injuries, my funeral and the ensuing dialogues concerning the manner in which I died will not become breeding grounds for victim blaming.

-The most important people in my life will not feel like my everyday problems exceed the scope of their friendship and the capacity to deal with them, the abilities of ordinary individuals.

-If I need medical care, I will not be deterred from seeking it due to stigma. Health care packages are more likely to consider my needs basic and quintessential. I can openly discuss my medical ailments in social spaces without having to worry that I am shooting myself in the foot.

-I do not have to think twice about riding the bus, going to the dining hall, attending class, walking down the street, or ordering food from a venue because I do not struggle with these basic tasks.

-I can navigate the public domain on my own because I won't become so crippled by my emotions or thoughts that I need help filling out forms, answering questions, talking to people, or traveling.

-When I am forced to be in crowded, busy locations and potentially stressful situations, I don't legitimately fear for my life or struggle to maintain tenuous contact with reality.

-My ability to study or absorb basic sentences is not compromised by racing or intrusive thoughts.

-I have the luxury of going without sleep or altering my sleeping schedule if I have work to do or want to stay out with friends, because the state of sleep deprivation is not going to send me spiraling into a state of despondency, suicidality, mania, self-destructiveness, or psychosis.

-I will never have to worry about the episodic abolition of the most often cited requisites for humanity-rationality, stability, and capacity for higher thought-and thus, I will never be demoted to sub-human citizenry in either my own eyes or the eyes of others.