May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health labels can be both helpful and harmful. On one hand, they can provide a framework for understanding and treating mental health conditions. However, they can also lead to stigma and oversimplification of complex issues.

Misunderstood symptoms of trauma in mental illness can include flashbacks, dissociation, hypervigilance, and emotional dysregulation. These symptoms can often be misunderstood or misinterpreted by others. Misdiagnosed PTSD is all too common and can lead to improper treatment and further distress for the individual. Join us for this exploration of how mental health labels and stigma play out for those who have survived trauma. It is important to challenge these stigmas and promote open conversations about mental health to reduce the shame and discrimination associated with trauma and mental illness.

In this webinar, YANA panelists will be discussing their own journey through mental health and the challenges with stigma that have limited many of us from seeking help earlier. We will be sharing personal stories of resilience and growth, and providing resources and tools for individuals to reclaim their lives after trauma. We believe that sharing our personal stories of survival and holistic techniques can support you in the sacred process of reclaiming yourself in healing. You deserve to be respected and heard!

We set this event up as a Zoom webinar, not a meeting, to maintain anonymity of our attendees so audience members will not be seen. There is a chat room, and you can ask questions and be invited to unmute yourself if you desire. Your name will be displayed in the chat, so please feel free to change your name to protect your identity in any way that you see fit.

$5 Donation Requested. All registered attendees will receive a complimentary replay within 48 hours of the original broadcast.

Register for this Zoom Webinar here: https://omapittsburgh.org/event/challenging-mental-health-labels-and-stigma/