Ableism and Our Mental Health Crisis: Envisioning a New Garden

Our mental health crisis includes rising levels of anxiety, opioid overdose, suicide rates, and growing loneliness. The reasons for our high levels of distress are complex, and we are divided in our assessment of the root causes and potential solutions. Fear and bias against people with mental illness hinder our ability to respond, and affected individuals’ ability to get help. This bias is part of a larger system of bias against the disabled, called ableism. The Garden of Eden story is read as an origin story of ableism. We cannot go back to the garden, to a pre-ableism world. We instead need to recognize others in their fullness, and see ableism where it is present in order to address it and move to greater inclusion and justice for people with mental health diagnoses.