Living past the stigma

[leni]

This is just a rant, sorry. I came across an article about a drink they're making named after Mel Gibson making fun of him having bipolar disorder. Whether or not he does have it, it just makes me sad to think that people make fun of that sort of thing. I myself was diagnosed with bipolar disorder several years ago and while it was a nightmare at first with the hospitalizations and changing medications, I have been able to lead a normal life.

My brother was diagnosed over ten years ago and he didn't have much luck getting treatment but he too is living ok now. There is such a horrible stigma to mental illness and there are so many people out there needing help and there is an incredible lack of resources and help. My brother had such a hard time getting treatment because he lived in a small town where there just wasn't anything around for that type of illness. If people truly understood how it is to live with that type of illness they wouldn't really find it all that funny. I wish more attention would be brought to what can be done to help people with mental illness rather than just making fun of them and pushing them to the bottom of the pile :hair:

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Leni, I can not honestly say I know what you deal with on a day to day basis, but I know how it is to have to live with a stigma. My son has ADHD and OCD and is often labeled a freak or a "bad" kid because he can not control some of his actions. On top of that he also suffers from a form of autism known as Asperger's Syndrome and this also leads to Bryce getting made fun of and tormented to the point where he is often afraid to go out because he never knows of he is going to get beat up.

You sound like you have made great strides in getting the help you need and I wish you the best of luck in life!

 

[Laurie]

Leni, thank you for your post.

My little sister has bi-polar disorder, but she is an adult with a high functioning level of mental illness. After she was finally diagnosed correctly she became an advocate for NAMI--National Alliance for Mental Illness--she works for them and attends group sessions as well. Both my mother and brother-in-law also attend group support to help those family members who live with and love someone with a mental illness.

It is wrong for society to have such a perception and stigma against mental illness. The flack Brittney Spears took is just wrong. This things have to be controlled by medication. Some people are not able to hold down a job, it's quite sad. It's also sad they way we blow off depression as something that is fleeting or can be "cured" by medication.

As a country we often come together or many causes--the cure for cancer--the telethons for MD and so on and so on, but where is the press on mental illness, it's causes and it's fears and yes it's triumphs? There are none.

A few months ago Dana Plato's son killed himself and his own grandmother said she couldn't understand it as he had so much to live for? I wanted to strangle this woman! Her own daughter died from suicide--clearly depressed and diagnosed with it, this is an illness that is hereditary. Dana's son lost his mother when he was just a young boy--his whole short adult life he mourned and missed her yet his grandmother wonders why he did it.

I hate that we can't try to understand what it feels like to be a person living with mental illness everyday. It's wrong to scoff at it and write it all off as just temporary crazy behavior.

I hope someday it won't be like this, but mankind disappoints me often

 

[leni]

Thanks guys. I knew I could come on here and get that off my chest. My own parents don't understand or try to most of the time and they have two kids with bipolar disorder, not to mention my dad has a schizophrenic sister and some other siblings that went through depression. A lot of times people just think it's something you can just snap out of, like maybe you enjoy being sick or something. If that were the case then maybe people who are diabetic or who have other diseases should snap out of it too.

 

[Jazicat]

I admire you for standing up and being open about this. I have bipolar 2 and work really with my doctor to be as well as I can. I can also understand your frustration that you are treated like anything but someone with an illness. It's not right and I am glad you posted here and are getting support!