Hello World It's Me, The Weirdo

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You're probably wondering why I would put such a strange title. I could go on and on about all the ways in which I'm unique or maybe I could even tell you what we might have in common, but the truth is that the reason I call myself a weirdo in the title is because I like breaking down stigma and stereotypes about conventionally unaccepted labels, descriptions, and titles.

What do I mean when I call myself a weirdo? To start I think it's important for you to understand that there are thousands of different varieties of weirdo and all of them are unique to each individual. In my honest opinion we are all weirdos because normal does not exist. Normal is an unrealistic standard set by those who lack the emotional capacity to love and accept differences in others.

So, What is my flavor of weirdo, what characteristics and abnormalities make up the strands of my every growing personality? Let's start with some of the things that lay the foundation for a sound understanding of me as an individual. I am an artist, a photographer, videographer, musician, poet, and overall lover of any and all creative pursuits. Underneath all of my creativity I am driven by a desire to grow, learn, travel, and have new and exciting adventures. On a sobering note, I suffer from multiple different mental illnesses, but I am learning to embrace the good and love the difficult parts of myself with a gentle kindness. I am diagnosed with PTSD, Bipolar I (mixed states, psychosis), GAD, and ADHD.

You won't find me romanticizing my mental illnesses, they're pretty awful sometimes. As you get to know me you'll find that even though I fit many of the symptoms of these disorders I don't fit into the stigma and stereotypes that are often placed on those of use that suffer them. My bipolar disorder doesn't cause minute to minute shifts in mood, my GAD doesn't cause constant panic attacks, and my ADHD doesn't make me bounce off the walls or constantly talk a million miles a minute. I am not the stigma that you have come to know. If you stigmatize my illness often times it's not your fault and I'm not even upset with you. Stigma is part of our shared societal understanding of each other. It's something that you picked up on through years of exposure and I would honestly be a little taken aback if you didn't buy into it at least a little. The issue arises when you refuse to learn and hold the knowledge that these stigmatizations are false.

This is your chance to educate yourself about someone who doesn't fit the mold. I don't speak for everyone who struggles with mental health because I can only really speak for myself and my experiences. So I would like to formally invite you to follow along with me as I use this space to explore my understanding of myself. Come get to know me, introduce yourself, and let's just get to know each other. My name is Heidi Werner, it's nice to meet you let's be weirdos together.

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