--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We share in the certainty that people…" description: "\"We share in the certainty that people labeled with mental illness are first and above all, human beings. Our lives are precious and are of infinite val..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/patricia-deegan-57707_certainty_we-share-in-the-certainty-that-people-la_1522475.png" --- # We share in the certainty that people labeled with mental… ![“We share in the certainty that people labeled with mental illness are first and above all, human beings. Our lives are precious and are of infinite value.” quote by Patricia Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/patricia-deegan-57707_certainty_we-share-in-the-certainty-that-people-la_1522475.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/patricia-deegan-57707_certainty_we-share-in-the-certainty-that-people-la_1522475.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/patricia-deegan-57707_certainty_we-share-in-the-certainty-that-people-la_1522475.png) > “We share in the certainty that people labeled with mental illness are first and above all, human beings. Our lives are precious and are of infinite value.” [Patricia Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-deegan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People with mental illness are first and foremost human, deserving of infinite value and dignity. **In simple terms:** Human dignity transcends mental illness. Key Takeaway Treat everyone as human first. Themes human rights mental health dignity Mood compassionate hopeful Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - healthcare - community support - policy making - public education Key Concepts Humanism infinite value Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure policies reflect this view? - What daily actions affirm human value? A Different Perspective Stigma can still dehumanize despite advocacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [The concept of recovery is rooted in the simple yet profound realization that people who have been diagnosed with mental illness are human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-deegan/the-concept-of-recovery-is-rooted-in-the-simple-yet-profound/) [Patricia Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-deegan/) > [Every type of evil we've got in us is the result of that one true illness of the human mind - that is, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wojciech-kurtyka/every-type-of-evil-we-ve-got-in-us-is-the-result-of-that-one-true/) [Wojciech Kurtyka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wojciech-kurtyka/) > [“complicated human behavior was increasingly getting labeled a mental disorder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/complicated-human-behavior-was-increasingly-getting-labeled-a-mental/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [I have spent most of my life working with mental illness. I have been president of the world's largest association of mental-illness workers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/i-have-spent-most-of-my-life-working-with-mental-illness-i-have-been/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I didn't want to do a zoo show. I didn't want to do a study of someone with mental illness. I just wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-craig/i-didn-t-want-to-do-a-zoo-show-i-didn-t-want-to-do-a-study-of-someone/) [Daniel Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-craig/) > [I think that people do things for a reason - that we have mental illness, that we have genetic wiring that can get triggered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-think-that-people-do-things-for-a-reason-that-we-have-mental/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I know that if I could really understand mental illness, then it would be appropriate to make a big career shift. I would become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-that-if-i-could-really-understand-mental-illness-then-it-would/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Physically, I'm healthy as a horse, always held up. But in the mental illness department, I got my share. It's just what I got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/physically-i-m-healthy-as-a-horse-always-held-up-but-in-the-mental/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [Finding a calm place inside myself through meditation kind of helped me to get over a lot of mental illness ... it's just been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/finding-a-calm-place-inside-myself-through-meditation-kind-of-helped/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [Mental illness is real, and I got them. I don't know if it's the multiple concussions or the lifestyle choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hall/mental-illness-is-real-and-i-got-them-i-don-t-know-if-it-s-the/) [Scott Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hall/) > [It seemed to me the basic definition of mental illness, this persistent, painful inability to simply be with someone else. It might be lifelong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-thompson/it-seemed-to-me-the-basic-definition-of-mental-illness-this/) [Tracy Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-thompson/) > [I was hoping that I could say stuff about mental illness that maybe people didn't know. You know, speak up for bipolar disorder and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-millegan/i-was-hoping-that-i-could-say-stuff-about-mental-illness-that-maybe/) [Eric Millegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-millegan/) > [My father's very public life as Famous Amos was the opposite of that of his ex-wife, my mother Shirley, who was fighting a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/my-father-s-very-public-life-as-famous-amos-was-the-opposite-of-that/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [I think we need to talk about mental illness a lot more. People complain about tax dollars and say we don't have the money.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-think-we-need-to-talk-about-mental-illness-a-lot-more-people/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) ## More by Patricia Deegan > [The goal of recovery is not to become normal. The goal is to embrace the human vocation of becoming more deeply, more fully human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-deegan/the-goal-of-recovery-is-not-to-become-normal-the-goal-is-to-embrace/) [Patricia Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-deegan/) > [The goal is to become the unique, awesome, never to be repeated human being that we were called to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-deegan/the-goal-is-to-become-the-unique-awesome-never-to-be-repeated-human/) [Patricia Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-deegan/) > [We are a conspiracy of hope and we are pressing back against the strong tide of oppression which for centuries has been the legacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-deegan/we-are-a-conspiracy-of-hope-and-we-are-pressing-back-against-the/) [Patricia Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-deegan/) > [I believe it is a spirit of hope that gathers us here together today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-deegan/i-believe-it-is-a-spirit-of-hope-that-gathers-us-here-together-today/) [Patricia Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-deegan/) > [The concept of recovery is rooted in the simple yet profound realization that people who have been diagnosed with mental illness are human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-deegan/the-concept-of-recovery-is-rooted-in-the-simple-yet-profound/) [Patricia Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-deegan/) [Explore all 6 Patricia Deegan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-deegan/) ## More Certainty quotes > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/as-a-businessman-i-know-that-businesses-need-certainty/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/every-single-person-who-is-a-member-of-our-party-deserves-to-have/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/the-significance-and-volume-of-repairs-that-are-needed-across-the/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/death-is-the-one-great-certainty-in-life-that-s-what-my-dad-used-to/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [Finding someone that trusted my vision helped me find certainty in who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/finding-someone-that-trusted-my-vision-helped-me-find-certainty-in/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) [Browse all 1,776 Certainty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We share in the certainty that people labeled with mental illness are first and above all, human beings. 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