In this thesis, I desire to give a relational account of my mental illness by exploring
memories where I recall discovering symptoms and attempting to reach out for help. I inquire
into how mental illness affects those around me and how others affect my mental illness. I
vulnerably navigate the social interactions in which I have been silenced and silenced others.
These moments are important spaces to consider engaging the discourse through efforts of
interrogating stigma. By opening my “self” and “body” to others, I construct a space where
mental illness is conceived of as a relational accomplishment. As stories of mental illness
emerge from isolated experiences toward social ones, silenced voices are able to speak more
loudly within a community of people who see themselves through/within each other