“Well most people with a mental illness aren’t violent” is not the destigmatizing phrase you think it is. Many people with mental illnesses are violent. The point is that they too need treatment for their illness.
If you truly support mentally ill people, then you must be able to understand where violence comes from. You must be able to reconcile why you can support people who wish to kill themselves but assume anyone with homicidal ideation is inherently evil. You must be able to recognize incarcerated persons as human and worthy of life and rights. You must be able to see a person through their addiction, whether it is to the socially-acceptable alcohol, or it’s hard drugs.
It is not your job to put yourself through relationships you can’t tolerate, you don’t need to be there every step of a loved one’s recovery, but you must be able to, on principle, understand that mental illness is a vast experience beyond only the palatable narrative of solely personal suffering.
Suicide and self-harm is violence, just inflicted on ourselves instead of others.
If I did to someone else what I've done to myself, I'd be in prison, and probably with a pretty lengthy sentence.
