Introducing Adin Van Ryneveld, creating a movement that spreads kindness by transforming stigma around mental illness
What service are you offering in your community?
I have a show called Beyond Stigma.
I originally named it Fuck Stigma, but recently changed it based on a suggestion from a friend.
With Fuck Stigma, I wanted to tell the world and say, “Hi, my name is Adin, and I have a mental illness. If you have a mental illness, I want you to share it publicly too.” That was my message. Almost like in the gay community when people came out and claimed it, I want people to do the same thing with their diagnosis. I believe that by doing that, they will be saying “fuck stigma” because they’re going to be saying it in spite of what may or may not happen. Did you know that 2% of the world’s population is bipolar? People should not be feeling alone in this day and age. I think the more people that come out and say it’s okay to have a mental illness, the more okay it will be to have one.
I’m also living in South Africa, and Africa as a continent has a weird relationship to mental illness. That’s because it’s not a very African thing to be depressed or anxious or the types of things associated with that. Mental illness is a western phenomenon that has only shown up very recently in Africa. People aren’t used to it. In first world countries, where people are more used to it, it is a lot more normal. But there’s still stigma.
What inspired you to offer this service?
I’m one of the lucky ones. A lot of people have mental illness and severe challenges in their life. My life’s been pretty amazing apart from the fact that I’m bipolar. My parents have saved my life every time I’ve had an episode. Every time, I go back home and they take me in and they look after me. I haven’t lost a single friend through having a mental illness. There’s a lot of people who have a mental illness and they come out of hospital and they go to the streets because they can’t live in society, they’ve got no people to look after them when it’s needed. I’ve got people. That’s what makes it feel like I’m so lucky, I have to try and be that for other people.
I think of this as a movement, and I’m hoping that people will join me in this movement. I believe that owning your diagnosis and creating conversations about mental illness is going to have a very profound effect on people with mental illness.
I want to be the AA of mental illness. I want to create a fellowship where people with mental illness collaborate, cooperate and co-create together. I believe there is huge untapped potential lying dormant waiting to be released inside people with mental illness, who are just in messed up situations that they don’t know how to get out of. The dream is to turn this show into a reality show on Netflix. When that happens, there will be enough money from sharing my story and other people sharing their stories, to help people with mental illness. People that come out of hospital and don’t have a place to stay, we’ll be able to give them a place without them having to live on the street and become beggars. There are so many people that are on the street that are just on the street because they have a mental illness. And because they’ve got a mental illness, chances are they have an addiction as well. Society judges their addiction so that they don’t get help and have to stay on the streets. It’s very difficult to have an addiction and a disease. Most people have one. The thing with mental illness is there’s a good chance of people developing an addiction problem because living with mental illness is so hard. When your life is easy, you don’t need to take drugs or drink. I want to work with people who have issues with mental health and I want to help them succeed in the world.
How do you believe this particular service can help people? What are the benefits?
The ultimate person that I want to help is the person out there who is mentally ill and feels alone. If my show reaches a person who has a mental illness, I hope that person does not feel alone and is inspired to take action towards living a more fulfilled and complete life. Whether they take big steps or baby steps, every step is forward.
And if these videos reach someone and make that person be a little bit kinder to the next person that they meet with mental illness, then it’s worth doing them. I want to make conversations about mental health normal by bringing them into the open.
I actually hate the term mental illness. I like the term “diagnosis” much better. Diagnosis is a much better expression of energy because it’s just a word. And that’s all that bipolar is, is a word. I don’t have a mental illness, I’m just bipolar. I’m not mentally ill. I don’t have a sickness in my brain, but the way that my brain works makes me bipolar and that means I engage with the world differently.
Right now, I’m busy designing a life for myself where my mental health will keep on improving by doing things to make me better. Each new thing that I do will be used as content for the show. And at the same time, start a community where people can share their ideas of what to do to get better.
I used to hate being bipolar, I used to reject the diagnosis. Now I’m in a state of acceptance. Since then, my experience of being bipolar has improved. What I journalled about the other day, is that my unique selling point is that I’m bipolar. It isn’t my curse, it is going to be the thing that I’m going to cash in on. What’s going to make my show interesting is the fact that I’m bipolar. I don’t think anyone is out there that’s bipolar trying to show how cool a life they can lead, with the support of good medication and loved ones, and so on. I want to be cool in spite of, or because of, the fact that I’m bipolar. I want to make mental illness sexy because then everyone would want to talk about it. I think it’s important to get across the idea that you can create a fabulous life even if you have a mental illness! What got you into this activity? Why are you passionate about it?
My life has been quite a struggle because of being bipolar, but I’ve gotten to a point in my recovery where I’m feeling for the first time in a very long time that I have a future at all. And because I can now see just the possibility of a future, I can start seeing what’s possible in that future. And I’m convinced that I’m going to have a fabulous life. So all the struggle that I’ve been through will have been worth it because it’s been making me strong enough to live the life I’m about to lead. If I’ve learned or experienced anything up until now that will be valuable to other people like it’s been valuable to me, I want to share it.
Normally my pattern with bipolar is I go manic, which is horrible for everyone around me because they’re scared to death, but I’m having the time of my life. Then ending up in hospital, then getting tons of medication to take, then coming out of hospital and being depressed for a few months, and then being “normal” for a few years. And then trigger, mania, depression, “normal”. And then it cycles through that. But the last episode that happened almost 4 years ago was very hectic because I’d been off meds for 18 months. I thought I had everything sorted out and I was capable and strong enough to live without medication. And I was white knuckling through the mania, just gritting my teeth and getting through it. And then I blew the top and went very manic, very quickly, to the point of being psychotic. And in my last episode, I physically hurt my parents. So the manic episode was particularly intense, and then I fell into a depression, which is normal, but it didn’t go away. It lasted for 3.5 years, and for the last year, I was drinking. Too much. Because I was taking (the wrong) medication, I didn’t have to drink that much to get drunk, but every time I drank, I got drunk. But thank God I developed an alcohol problem because I went to rehab, and it was in rehab that I met a doctor who started changing my meds. And my recovery was miraculous. I’m now a fan of medication and I think it’s the first step.
My medication was constantly changed over a 6 month period, but I’ve been on the same medication for a few months now. I believe I’m at a point in my medication where I’m as good as I can be just because of meds. The rest of my wellness is going to be determined by my actions. The way I choose to live my life is going to be the way my mental health is going to be. I want to make Beyond Stigma my journey through all the other things that are out there to get better. So that’s why I’m doing things like a morning routine of stretching and a Deepak Chopra meditation. I also do a gratitude journal, and write my power list, 3-5 critical tasks that you do every day that take you forward in life, closer to your dreams and goals. From tomorrow as well, I’m going to be adding tapping.
But I think that medication needs to be the first step. If you’re in trouble, I think it’s important to go get help. Go to hospital if that’s what’s required. But get help and get your medicine right. Once your medicine’s right, you’ve got a chance. If you don’t get your medicine right, you’ve got no chance. It’s the first step and it can take years. I think I’m only on the right medication now, after my last relapse.
For a long time, I’ve asked myself, why did I have to be bipolar, why me? Without ever being able to fully answer that question, I've gotten myself to connect to a possibility that when I do finally master being bipolar, I’m going to have a miraculously wonderful life. I have to believe something so wonderful to get me through the dark times. And now that I’m in a situation where I’m able to be “normal”, I owe it to myself to be a success. Then all that I’ve gone through will have been worth it. Why does kindness count? Kindness is the most powerful currency there is. I made a decision around the beginning of this year that I’m going to smile at and greet as many people as I can. Whenever I think I can get away with it, I will smile at someone or greet them. You’ll be amazed at the power that it has. Just something as simple as that. I’ve been a recipient of so much kindness from people over the years. There’s what my parents have done for me. I’ve got friends who for years while I was “sick” and not working, would take me out for dinner and buy things for me and were just super kind to me when I was in need. And now that I’m going to be in a situation where I’m not going to be in need anymore, I want to be able to be of service to someone else that’s in need.
Is kindness contagious?
I do think kindness is contagious. I really like that name, the kindness virus. If you see an act of kindness, you’re going to see two people who’re having the time of their lives because the one person is blessing someone and the other person is being blessed. That’s the most powerful thing you can see. So if you witness that, you’re going to want to have that for yourself. So it’s definitely contagious.
How can people get involved with what you’re doing? They can follow me on social media and share my videos to have them reach more people. I have a youtube channel – Adin van Ryneveld, and Instagram – beyondstigma. I share from youtube to Facebook and am always open to making new friends. So if someone wants to add me on Facebook, they must just introduce themselves and let me know it’s from this interview so I’ll have a reason for accepting the request.
I would like people to take part in the Beyond Stigma challenge. And that is to come out and claim your diagnosis by saying in a public, digital way: “Hi, my name is __________ and I have a mental illness, and say what it is. If you want to make a youtube video, do that. If you want to post on Facebook, do that. Wherever you want to post, use # beyondstigma and #ihaveamentalillness. And let’s see if we can get this thing trending.
My dream is that in three years, I will have created a reality show about me being a bipolar person living my life and trying to be awesome, and pay back my parents and all my friends, and learn as much as I can to be happy, healthy and wealthy. So if anyone thinks that would be a cool show and knows anything about making that a reality, please get in touch! I’m going to need people to hold cameras, do editing, make title screens. There’s a lot that’s going to need to go into it and I don’t have a clue how to do it.
This interview is a big step for me because you’re going to publish stuff I haven’t necessarily said out loud yet. I have to censor myself so people don’t worry about me. I don’t want them to think that I’m thinking too big, because thinking too big is a sign of going manic. It’s like in the show, I’ve put myself out there for the world to see and you can’t take it back. It’s quite scary, but it’s liberating at the same time because you know you’re moving forward.
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