The PD² podcast: Pushing Back Against Prejudice & Discrimination

I tell my stories and share my experiences because I believe my silence perpetuates ongoing harms. I speak up and I speak out because, most of the time, I feel I can and, all of the time, I feel I should. I am me and I want to carry my lived experiences of mental health problems as bridges and not burdens.

Stories matter. Their type and their number.

The more nuanced and individualised stories that are heard about lived experiences, the richer the narratives become. Mental health problems, particularly the less-talked about ones, are often presented in misleading binaries: sick/well, us/them, healer/healed, good/bad, capable/incapable. These binaries do not tell an accurate story. There is no single story of a mental health problem, every story is as unique as the individual and as one-of-a-kind as their life.

It was therefore an honour to talk to Chris last year and have some of my story shared on the Square Pegs Presents... PD² podcast.

Chris describes PD² as 'an audio podcast that’s an offshoot of the work we started with the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, the NCCMH [...], 'part of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, to challenge the prejudice and discrimination experienced by people with a label, or diagnosis of personality disorder'.* The podcast shares the stories of people who have been harmed by predjudice and discrimination too often associated with this diagnosis/label.

In the opening podcast of PD², Chris explains that PD stands for both 'personality disorder' and 'prejudice' and 'discrimination'. The 'squared' part reflects the 'intention to square up to the prejudice and discrimination' experienced by so many individuals with this diagnosis/label.

PD² with Square Pegs

It was immensely meaningful for me to be able to share some of my experiences of prejudice and discrimination attached to the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD). I'm enjoying listening to the episodes with the other individuals who had conversations for the series.

You can listen to the series here. I would love to know what you think and I imagine Chris would too.

*Whilst the work originated from the NCCMH, the conversations in the podcast do not reflect the opinions or the work of the Royal College of Psychiatrists or the NCCMH and is no longer connected with any of these organisations.