Welcome to episode 232 with Katja Pavlovna, who is an educator and award-winning activist and the co-founder of Lives Not Labels, a project designed to shine a light on the mental health conditions and labels that are stigmatised, discriminated against and typically left out of the mainstream conversation.

After years of struggling with her mental health and fighting to access support, Katja received a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD).  She was later diagnosed with Schizotypal Personality Disorder (STPD), which is now her primary diagnosis, and an eating disorder.

In this episode I chat to Katja about her experiences with mental illness, everything that led to her diagnosis and why she decided to set up Lives Not Labels with her oldest friend and co-author, Kay Garbett.

We chat about personality disorders and variations of these types of conditions; we chat about some of the common misconceptions and stereotypes that drive the stigma and fear around them and we chat about the day-to-day realities of living with multiple labels and knowing where one diagnosis stops and another one starts.

We also chat about the new book that Katja and Kay have written, which is called ‘Sorry My Mental Illness Isn’t Sexy Enough for You’ which is part memoir, part self-help guide and tells the story of how the project came to be and the unique journeys of the authors.

Some people are just left out of the mental health discourse and it’s all OK to not be OK until you have a label or diagnosis that isn’t as palatable or as common as anxiety or depression.

Stigma can exist for everyone of course, but there is definitely more of it for some than there is for others and through Lives Not Labels and this new book, Katja and Kay are doing incredible work to give everyone a voice.

Follow on socials @livesnotlables and learn more about this incredible work at www.livesnotlables.com

The book is available everywhere learn more here: Book Sorry My Mental Illness Isn't Sexy Enough for You

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

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Thanks for listening!