Actress Alyssa Milano first started noticing that she was experiencing mental health disorders back in 2011 after her son Milo was born. For example, her first day home from the hospital, she felt like she had already failed as a mother since she was unable to give birth vaginally and unable to feed her son breastmilk. She explained in TIME magazine, “I felt like I had already disappointed my child.” She added, “My heart raced. My stomach seized up. I felt like I was dying.”
That’s a lot of extreme feelings with a newborn in the house, and Milano has since gotten help. She recognizes that she suffered from postpartum depression, but that’s not all. She told TIME, “My Generalized Anxiety Disorder was most likely triggered by my postpartum depression, and my journey with mental illnesses began with my journey into motherhood.”
Milano is in no way hiding her mental health struggles or the fact that she takes medication to manage her mental health. She feels that it is wrong to make fun of people by using mental health language, and she’s not about to stay silent when one of her followers tries to do just that.
When a social media troll commented, “Did you forget to take your medication?” in response to a video she posted, Milano posted another video to clap back. In the video, she explained that, “First of all, no I did not forget to take my medication.” She added, “I take my medication every day.”
Milano didn’t just own the fact that she takes medication every day. She also explained exactly why she takes medication. She said, “I have anxiety with complex PTS and panic disorder, so I take my medicine because I like to just be functional.”
When the actress went on to make a very important point. She said, “I think it’s time that we de-stigmatize medication from mental health like we’ve de-stigmatized say, I don’t know, Botox. OK, thanks for listening.”
Her fans loved her message and agreed with her. For example, one comment reads, “I’m so over society using metal health as a comical insult. Let’s not shame or demoralize people for wanting to maintain a level of health and functioning.”
Milano believes that it is important to ask for help if you are struggling with your mental health. Do you think her video will help others feel more confident about seeking help if they struggle with mental health and stop joking about mental health disorders?