While my computer was down, I had something published in Pittsbugh's local, alternative weekly newspaper. It was a \"Rant\"and the topic is about how most people are ignorant towards those with mental illness. It made me wonder, what are the perceptions of the members on this board towards mentally ill people? Does anyone have some stories they'd like to share about mental illness, or interactions with mentally ill people (I can't think of a synonym for "mentally ill" )? Any feedback would be wonderful. Thanks.

Two things:
Have you noticed when someone is accused of some really ghastly crime the media reports that he/she is "mentally ill"? Most mentally ill people never commit violent crimes. But the association of the two sure cements in the public mind that mentally ill = violent psychopath.

I once had the experience of person, a therapist no less, trying to discredit my credibility for long and painful reasons I will not go into here. She told everyone who had known me in Seattle where I went to college that I was "mentally ill" although no such illness had ever been diagnosed. Her telling people I was "mentally ill" was totally different from telling people I had something like bronchitis or even something major like ovarian cancer. In saying I was "mentally ill" she was clearly telling my former friends/acquaintances that I was not reliable, not credible and not someone with whom they should wish to associate.

Oh yeah. It worked.

I thought therapists weren't allowed to discuss their patient's histories. I could be wrong so correct me.

As someone who works for an organization that fights for the rights of people who suffer from mental illness, there are many obstacles we fight everyday. Most people do not understand what mental illness is, and those who suffer from it cant get past the stigma behind it to seek the help they need. One in Five people suffer from some form of mental illness.

What readers of this should understand is that mental illness has many different faces. Some of those include:

Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Bi Polar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post Partum Depression.

Fortunately more and more celebrities are becoming open with their mental illness, which is helping those out their in the masses to relate and know it is ok to seek help.

I strongly encourage people to seek help and speak to someone about their problems.

A great resource is the National Mental Health Association's web site... you can access it at www.nmha.org.

Definitely a topic that needs more attention, awareness and sensitivity. And are meds always the right answer. I suppose that considering humans used to lock up people who were blind or mentally ill, we've come a long way ... with still a ways to go.

I would normally be surprised to hear such intelligent discussion on this topic, but with this board, I'm not. Thanks for your thoughts---I want to hear some more!

Until I began working in health care, I was like most people in my stereotypes of the mentally ill. The only person close to me who was, and I never really knew her, was my great-great-aunt Rose, who was a paranoid schizophrenic and finally had to be institutionalized. She had a hallucination of a "little man" who would come and visit her, and tell her what to eat and drink - she nearly starved herself to death on a couple of occassions because the man would not let her eat.

Then I went to college (in the 80s), majored in psychology and learned a lot more about the various conditions that godukehoopsnj lists, and the biological mechanisms thought to cause the disorders. That education has continued on through my career in health care.

Most people now believe that "mental illness," as opposed to being a character flaw or "possession," is biochemical in nature, although typical life stresses can trigger the disorders and most people actually recover, if given appropriate treatment and time.

Having fought through a couple major depressions myself, and been diagnosed as dysthemic (a form of chronic, low-level depression), I certainly second the notion that most people have not idea of the number of mentally ill people out there who are functioning completely "normally." I have a good friend and colleague who is bipolar (manic depressive), and was untreated in college. The difference between her behavior in college and now, under appropriate medication, is amazing. Those in my office who see her as a capable manager and company leader would likely be shocked to learn about her underlying condition, not to mention the amount of time and energy she spends on managing that condition. We have spoken often about the similarities in coming out as gay or as mentally ill.

I find it interesting that you draw the parallel between mental illness and being gay. Since they are both things that can not be seen by the naked eye (unless in the gay pride parade) I can see your point. There are many people in society who would still say that homosexuality is a mental illness....fortunately there are smarter people who know better.

To touch upon something someone else said.. To medicate or not to medicate that is the question. MOst medical drs are quickl to medicate you and often times it is a stronger dose then needed.
I highly recommend speaking to a therapist and or a psychologist for drug scripts before speaking to your general practioner.

Many times depression and suicide follow the gay community especially in our teens because there is no one to understand and support us. Thats why it is very important that the gay community stick together and help those who have no one and need someone to talk to. Often times a sympathetic and knowing ear can do someone a world of good with out medicating them.

I like when the topic of medication is brought up. From the age of 14 until a few months ago, I was prescribed a multitude of psychiatric medications. From Prozac to Zoloft, and from Lithium to Ativan, I was on what seemed like every medication out there. Tegrotol was my favorite...facetiousness intended. It raised my liver and pancreas enzymes to astronomical levels...nothing says health like hepatitis and pancreatitis.

I have now been off medications for about three months, and have never felt more clear-headed. At first, it was a roller-coaster of emotions, but I am learning to handle them, and feel much more positive about my life. So, to summarize...I think medication is helpful, but not in all cases. But, it was an experience that I needed to have in order to move forward. Thoughts?

[ April 19, 2006, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: Falconpride ]

She defamed you per se. You should have sued her "professional" ass, and unless the statute of limitations has run, you still might.

Terry, I wasn't this woman's patient. I just knew her. I mentioned she was a therapist to underline that a therapist was talking about mental illness as synonymous with lack of credibility.

Interesting comparison with being gay. I would add that just as gays (and other minorities, of course) are stereotyped and considered a "they" who are all alike (white, male, well to do, urban, promiscuous, vain, working in the arts, etc.) "mental illness" are considered all alike. No one talks about "physical illness" generally. It would be ridiculous, there are so many with so many causes, treatments, etc. You dno't even put all illnesses of a given body part in one bag. "Stomach illness" could be anything from flu to ulcers to cancer! But "mental illness" is put in one bag as though a person with situational depression and a psychopath were the same thing.

Gosh, I'm going to sound so old saying this, but homosexuality was considered a mental illness until 1973. Imagine that...all of us on this board could have been committed to a mental institution just for being ourselves! Ms De Blaze, you bring up an excellent point about the difference between mental and physical illness. If I broke my arm, I wouldn't say to my boss that I can't come in due to a physical illness. I would tell him I broke my arm. But, if I were in a serious case of depression, I would probably say that I couldn't come into work due to a mental illness. Why the difference? There is a great deal of difference between physical ailments, but not mental ones? Perhaps a linguist or a doctor could better explain the differences. As for society's attitude toward mental illness, it is not that good. Plenty of sympathy for those that suffer from physical ailments, no sympathy for mental ailments. I think it has improved in the last couple of decades, but it is still not on equal footing of a physical illness or injury.

I am a manic depressive, non bipolar per se, because while I have shifts from manic to depressive, my overall personality does not change. It has definite cyclical rhythms, as well as very definite triggers. I also have body dysmorphism. I truly have NO idea what my body actually looks like. It has only been relatively recent that I even admit these defects within myself to people outside of very close friends and family. I refuse to take medication, instead I deal with life through meditation, breathing and relaxation techniques.

I genuinely believe, as does my mother, that one of the BIG roots of my mental issues is the fact that due to entering puberty early, I developed extremely bad acne at a very young age. By the age of eleven I had the muscle structure of a 15-17 year old boy. I have been the same size I am now since the age of twelve. Due to these factors, I was medicated as an adult. I was given adult level doses of a drug called Accutane in the early to mid 1980's over a one year period. It has been proven that this drug causes major damage to the central nervous system. While all childrens personalities change as they age, I entered a period of extreme depression with manic bouts of rage for about 2 years immediately after I stopped taking the medication.

I personally feel that this medication did something to my brain. I know that it made me absolutely crazy while I was on it. Maybe I was always like this, but I would like to think that a mother with a Master's degree in Education and another in Child Psychology would know if her child was showing signs of depression at a young age. Both of my parents said that my whole personality changed during the year I was on Accutane, and it was not until I was in my late teens to early twenties that my childhood personality began to manifest itself again, but ever since the age of 11 I have fought off extreme suicidal bouts of depression. Maybe it was hormones, but who knows.

However, I rarely, if ever, have any negative experiences from people. Generally if I do, it is from people that don't know me very well. I am very honest about it, and have actually asked people I know to alert me when I am extremely manic so that I can take a step back and get myself together. My co workers, friends and family do help to keep me in check. It does not happen often, usually only 2-3 times a year right now, lasting for no more than 3 days to a month. I try very hard to keep myself level, and you would never know by speaking to me that I have these issues.

There are so many facets to mental illness, that I think there will always be discrimination against those with issues. People just don't get it, unless they have it. And a lot of us that do have it, have developed mechanisms that either allow us to hide it, deal with it, or to medicate it.

Shore, it seems like every time I see you post a message, you seem to be opening up more and more. This is a good thing! It must be extremely cathartic.

To all the others who have posted responses, thanks! I like getting the views of others about this issue. If anyone read the "Rant" that I wrote, let me know what you think. For those of you who haven't, the link is provided when you click on the word "Rant" that is in the initial message. I await your thoughts.

I was diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder about ten years back. Without going into heavy detail, it means I get more depressed as the days get shorter (usually around late October), and then level off (usually sometime in January). I decided not to go the medication route, but instead simply worked on "coping skills". "Full-spectrum lighting" was also suggested, but since I was even poorer then than I am now, that wasn't really an option. Luckily, I found I got the same effect from a two-dollar strand of colored Christmas lights.

From the time I was diagnosed, I decided I'd treat the condition the same way I treated my homosexuality - it's part of me, and I was going to be neither proud nor embarrassed by it. If it came up in conversation, or if I felt someone might be affected by it, I'd let them know about it. So I told my friends, my co-workers, and my family. With one notable exception, everybody - my family, my boss - was extremely understanding and helpful. The exception, sadly, was an ex-, but we were still trying to remain friends. His response was - I kid you not - "Wow. That's kind of heavy, and I don't know if I know how to deal with that. Why don't you just call me when it's all over?" I sort of wrote him out of my life, obviously, until about a year or two later, when...guess who was suffering from depression, and needed someone to lean on?

Luckily, that one year (1995) remains the only really bad year I've ever experienced SAD full-blown. I still get traces of it every late autumn, and maybe have one bad day per year, but it's nothing I can't handle. And everybody in my circle has always been supportive.

LXN

I am in the odd position of having a physical illness - multiple chemical sensitivity, also called toxic illness - that is often mistakenly believed to be a mental illness. It is not; there are genuine, objectively measurable physical symptoms when a person with MCS is exposed to a trigger (in my case fragrance products and pesticides/herbicides).
Even if it were a mental illness, of course, I would still be entitled to reasonable accommodation under federal/state law, but generally when I hear that people with MCS have a mental and not physical illness what is meant, and sometimes explicitly stated, is we are all a bunch of nuts and to acccommodate, for example by not wearing scented products at work, is enabling our craziness. Few would say that the late Chris Reeve could climb stairs if he put his mind to it, but a lot of people including supposedly highly educated people still think that a mental illness could be overcome if you were just a little tougher. Just snap out of it!

Also, remember when NBA player Brian Williams (later Bison Dele) was diagnosed with clinical depression? We heard, often, what does he have to be depressed about, he is making millions of dollars to play a game. No one would say what does a person have to get measles about. The question is senseless.

Although many prominent people, from Mike Wallace to Ken Griffey Jr, have "come out" about mental health issues, they are still very stigmatized. The word "sick" is not an eptithet when used about a physical illness; saying a person with the flu is sick is not a putdown, but "you are sick" is very negative when used as a reference to real or assumed mental illness. And probably every gay man/lesbian/bi/trans person has heard it.

I was first diagnosed with a mental illness at the age of 14. Up until last year, my father, who grew up in 1940's and '50s South Africa, and didn't have a good understanding of how mental illness worked, used to tell me to just "snap out of it".

Unfortunately, he wasn't alone in giving me that effective advice. It takes work...and if you don't feel like getting out of bed and wish you hadn't woken up (known as "passive death wishes"), it's not as easy as changing your mind. I wished it would have been as easy as making my brain change its mind, but to quote Calvin, from the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes", "My brain always rejects attitude transplants."

Anytime someone told me to just "snap out of it", I wanted to place kick that person approximately 50 yards. Saying that shows a complete ignorance and lack of understanding about mental illness. Do they think the person actually wishes to be that miserable? Ok...time for me to get off the soapbox....

But seriously, sometimes, people need to show more sensitivity. Just saying...like the people on this board are right now. Maybe it's the birthday euphoria, but I love you guys! Ok, too mushy...even for me wink .

[ April 20, 2006, 10:05 AM: Message edited by: Falconpride ]

I should mention, as a follow-up to my post, that, rather than go the medication route myself, I have found that morning workouts are the best "treatment" for my dysthemia. The endorphin boost I get from the workout is a natural anti-depressant anyway, and I find that keeps me on an even keel.

You are right MdB that people too often make distinctions between mental and physical illness that don't make sense. Interestingly my organization, NCQA, puts out measures of health care quality that managed care organizations report as a way of demonstrating they are about more than just cutting costs. One of the new measures we have this year is looking at ADHD medication and follow-up by physicians. We found that, when field-testing the measure, we could not use an official diagnosis of ADHD to reliably identify members of managed care companies with the disease. There was such concern by physicians about triggering limitations in mental health benefits that they are loathe to use a mental health diagnosis on a claim form, but still prescribe the appropriate medication. Often mental health benefits are more limited than physical health. It is not just stigma that we have to worry about, but appropriate diagnosis and treatment with such limitations.

Oh, and MdB - snap out of it, it must be all in your head!

gmg, sorry, I did not notice your reply to me earlier.

I maybe could have sued that woman. But frankly, had I sued, the slanders against the alleged North Carolina rape victim would have looked pretty in comparison to what I would have been put through. I have no doubt she would have defended herself by dragging out everything I had said and done in the 10 years I had known her and twisted them, since that was what she had been doing. Please remember this was at a time of EXTREME crisis in my life, the worst of my entire adult life, which is why she acted as she did. This woman had a history of kicking people while they were down. And all I had was what I was told by others and legally that could have been considered hearsay. Frankly, I truly considered I was in danger and I "cut and run". Left the Northwest. Sometimes a person just has to survive.

Here is another point. Patient privacy is a sick joke. I have learned through bad experience to withhold and even falsify information I give to doctors because I know it most definitely will leave the room. How does that affect mental health care? Would you talk to a shrink if you knew your employer could hear every word? Or the Total Information Awareness program?

OK, also on my bug list. And this is a big issue I have with what is called the "psychiatric community": making social issues mental health issues. I am most definitely not saying mental health issues don't exist. But telling a person who is down over being unemployed to get a shrink? The person needs a job, not a shrink.

I am also made very nervous by the recent revelation that 100 % of the shrinks involved in recommending psychoactive drugs are tied to the pharma industry.

In fact, physical exercise is not a "cure" for depression but most definitely alleviates it.

Just my random thoughts.

thanks for the stories. there seems to be a bias against medication amongst the posters.

my mother suffers from "mental illness", which is controlled well through medication. however, she has on a few occasions after years of "normalcy" decided that she no longer needed her medication or that she didn't need to take as much as the doctor prescribed. invariably, she has had relapses, but she also has a strong anti-medication streak in her which in her case has proved quite dangerous and counter-productive.

I am one of those who share the opinion that mental illness is being over diagnosed and the following articles expose what I have thought has been going on behind the scene:

Http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060420/...iedtodrugmakers

Http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=...causedepression

I might mention that up until the early 1970’s, the psychiatric “profession” had diagnosed homosexuality as a mental illness because it did not conform to the existing standards for “normal” behavior. Accordingly, 1000’s of Gay men and women were arrested and confined in psychiatric prisons for revealing their supposedly “eccentric” thoughts.

Then, in the mid 70’s, the Kinsey and Masters & Johnson reports came out and they indicated that practically all persons (almost 70%) exhibit homosexual thoughts or behavior to some extent and this debunked the existing opinion of all the so called “experts” in psychiatry. Unfortunately, many Gay people were emotionally scarred and a few had their lives totally ruined by the pseudo-scientists that dominated the psychiatric field.

The proven existence of the Psychiatry-Industrial Complex (and their capricious diagnosis of various types of mental illnesses and aggressive peddling of tricyclic antidepressants and SSRI’s) is quite frightening and I’m glad the public is becoming aware of this insidious collusion.

Sometimes, I seriously wonder if the U.S. is trying to enact the same strategy as the former Soviet Union and simply blame its the social and economic problems on mental illness. Looks pretty scary to me. eek!

Cheers anyway-

The California Dolphin

What??? Greed dominating the "good intentions" of our society? I'm shocked and outraged!

In all seriousness, it's no surprise that the doctors have been linked to this. What does shock me is that it took this long for a report like this to become public. Most mental health consumers have known this for years; it's almost common knowledge. I don't know how the mental health systems compare in other countries, but in the land of the Almighty Dollar, money usually motivates the actions of people. Why should doctors be any different? Because they took the "Hippocritical Oath"? Oops, meant the "Hippocratic Oath" .

If anyone knows how the mental health systems compare in say, the UK, Middle East, or Japan, please let me know. Are doctors this corrupt in other parts of the world? Thanks.

OK, my two-pennorth. I've had chronic depression since puberty (11-12ish) and have accepted that it's not going to go away. I'm 34 now. It's greatly improved by medication, and without antidepressants I don't think I'd have made it through. My illness is inherited: several of my aunts and cousins have similar problems, and we're only now finding out how many people in earlier generations suffered as well. A few have committed suicide, but it was all hushed up because of the stigma.
I've had many different kinds of medication as well as counselling, and ECT. Some have worked better than others, some have been hell, some have worked for a while and then become less effective. I'm totally in favour of medication - for me. The doctors have tried other treatments, and for me, it's chemicals that work. I don't think they should ever be the only thing tried, though.
I try to tell people about my illness if the opportunity comes up. People who have, or think they have, no experience of it are frightened: they don't know what to expect of "the mentally ill". They're usually quite surprised to find that they do know one of "them" after all, and that you can't tell. The more we talk about it, the less it will be an unknown, frightening thing. I think most people would be surprised to learn just how many people they know who are, or have been, mentally ill. Once they realise that they've known me a while, and I don't go about murdering people or taking my clothes off in public or claiming to be Napoleon, they start to question the stereotypes a bit. (Actually, I am Napoleon, but it's a secret. wink )
I have a theory that the biggest problem with the general perception of depression is the name. If it was called Van Snettering's Syndrome or Galloping Gob-Rot then people wouldn't assume that they knew all about it because "everyone gets a bit depressed sometimes." Feeling lousy about something isn't the same as the results of your brain-chemistry being disordered, but because they're called the same, it's hard for anyone who hasn't been there to understand the difference.

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[ April 22, 2006, 06:38 PM: Message edited by: eddiecat ]

So, Rosgrana, are you telling me that the mental health system in the UK is similar to the one in the USA? Or did I misread that information? And, by the way, thanks for sharing...I think this is the first time I've seen one of your posts, although I understand that this isn't your debut. So, this may be belated, but welcome to OUTSPORTS!!

Thanks!
I know virtually nothing about the US health care system except that it's mainly insurance-based, so I don't know how similar they are. What happens here is that you go to your GP first, who either prescribes or advises, or if s/he thinks appropriate, refers you to a specialist who does likewise. None of this costs you anything - the Drs are all salaried by the NHS. Prescriptions cost per item unless you're on benefits, over 60, or otherwise exempt. The drug companies give Drs freebies, but of the pens/notepads/calendars variety - advertising rather than anything of real value. You can "go private" if you have insurance or money, but you'll get much the same treatment, just quicker, politer, and with better chairs.

That sounds a bit like the Canadian system.Maybe our Canadian friends can elaborate.

[ April 23, 2006, 04:09 PM: Message edited by: eddiecat ]

Thanks for the info....a few questions, since I'm unfamiliar with the UK Socialist Health Care terminology. Does "GP" stand for "General Practitioner", like a Primary Care Physician here in the US? And does "NHS", stand for "National Health System"? That sounds similar to Israel's health care system, where the rest of my family resides.

Ok, question, peoples...comparing both the Socialist and American Health Care systems, which would you prefer? Each has their upsides and drawbacks. Discuss (I feel like Mike Myers' character right now... )!

Sorry, yes: a GP is a General Practitioner, a jack-of-all-trades doctor for adults and children. The NHS is our (severely strained) National Health Service, which aims to provide free total health care for everyone in the UK. Most people will go their entire life without ever having non-NHS treatment. I'm in favour of our system, as it means that hopefully, no-one is unable to get treatment or gets substandard treatment because they're less well off or uninsured. (If you have anything unusual or complicated, you're actually much better off in a public hospital than a private one in the UK. Private medicine just isn't geared to anything but the bog-standard.) Of course, it's what I'm used to, and I don't know enough about other systems to really compare. I have trouble with the idea of the person who diagnoses you getting more business, and hence more money, for recommending certain treatments. I assume there are safeguards, but it seems more open to abuse than having a salaried medical profession.

While we are swaying slightly off topic, let me just give you a recent scenario that happened to me. Having one European parent, I would rather pay more money in taxes and know that my health care is free than the current American system. The NJ health insurance system is atrocious.

I have had a bout of kidney stones for about 6 months. I wound up in an emergency room, bill $3978. After seeing a sweep of doctors, it was determined that both my left kidney, and my intestines had shut down. So surgery was the only option I had. (total bills from seeing the specialists, including cat scans and X-Rays $1975) My doctor here in NJ turned out to be an idiot, as well as a smug arrogant bastard (at $375 per visit, I guess he was entitled) So I switched to Temple University's Department of Urology, they scheduled my Lythotripsy, Total bill $26,000. I negotiated the price, and got my total down to $13,850, including doctors visits, the surgery, and anesthisist. Two follow up visits were $550, a barium X-Ray was $275, and a regular abdomen X-Ray was $45. And the surgey did not work. So my total out of pocket expenses so far has been $20,673. I had no health Insurance at the time, and since I wound up in an emergency room, no surgeries or follow up visits would be covered even if I got insurance due to it being a pre-existing condition, for ONE YEAR.

In order for me to get the best health insurance available in NJ, I will pay $1,285 a month. My cheapest option is $369 a month thru my company, with a $2500 deductible which must be paid before insurance will kick in, and with them only covering 80% of the insurers approved list of Doctor's. None of my doctors are on this list. So if I wish to continue care with my choice of doctors I still have to pay for it on my own.

No real reason for this post, other than giving my personal perspective..... Oh yeah and does anyone want to buy my Jag? LOL this way I can afford a vacation.....

I certainly would not say that chemical treatments don't sometimes work. After all, the chemistry of any body part can go awry. But I do think "mental illness", so-called, is overdiagnosed. Too often social problems are presented as the individual's personal, mental health problems. And of coures nonconformity is often diagnosed by "professionals" and by family, neighbors, teachers et al as "mental illness" rather than just individuality. You don't fit in. You need to get your head shrunk. Hey, some of us don't WANT to fit in.
And frankly I honestly believe that many shrinks get into the business because it makes them feel superior and gives them an outlet to verbally and emotionally abuse others (just as some cops enjoy the chance to physically hit others). Again, I am sure not saying 100% are like this but a lot are.

Mental illness has for the LONGEST time been a blemish in American history. Although advancements in medical technology and prescription drugs have helped millions of people, what do we do with the "mentally ill"? What have we done for them? Instead of condemning sexual predators, HOW can we work to "cure" them or "help" them besides castration?

I have been diagnosed over the years as: clinically depressed, mildly OCD, ADD, "possibly" bi-polar, and suffering an anxiety disorder that has four almost four years now gone unnamed. I am on three or four different medications and although I can "function" as a normal member of society, there's not ONE day, nor one PART of any day, that passes without me facing these nameless demons that at times render me sleepless, anxious, depressed, and with nervous ticks.

But I don't pity myself. I do, however, pity our arrogant society that chastizes those we don't understand. Remember what happened when labotomies were all the rage? Nobody was immune (even a KENNEDY fell victim). We too-often rush-to-judgement when we know nothing else to do.

I have no answers or, sadly, any suggestions. All I can hope for is more focus on the ailments of those "less fortunate" than the "norm."