Have you/family member/friend etc, ever suffered from a mental illness?

[Blood Brain Barrier]

It's a defect of the brain in the same way that schizophrenia is. Mental illnesses and disorders are conditions of the mind and brain that cause significant impairment of the human experience. Depression, as the medical term, is a defect from what is healthy, good and average. It is the brain being wired and behaving in such a way as to impair one's ability to function as expected.

You're right when you suggest that mental illness is "the way someone is." However, things like depression, anxiety disorders, agoraphobia, etc., etc., are identifiable marks on our brains. For example, if ninety nine pieces of paper show perfect circles and ten show the same, imperfect circle, we can say that the ten suffer from the same condition. While every human is unique and every personality different, when their is a clear common element present, we call it a condition.

And a condition suggests there is something to be cured. As I see it this is a key problem with the medical field. It includes social norms as part of the normal functioning of the human organism. Mental illness is defined in relation to the functioning of an average person in the particular society the diagnosis is made. This is obvious from the way doctors prescribe antidepressants without any regard to their biochemical necessity - if the patient doesn't fit, she must be changed! I suppose it just shows how medicine is really in the service of society and the state, rather than the individual. But that's unlikely to change until our culture allows for a broader spectrum of individual archetypes. Until then we're going to keep trying to fit people into a very narrow idea of what we want them to be.

 

[White-Death]

I have Social Anxiety,Obsessive compulsive disorder and Chronic Shyness.
I think my Great Grandfather suffered from Chronic shyness as well,but probably something I misread.

 

[GLo Jones]

Both my ex-girlfriend's dad, and a close friend of mine suffer from Bi-polar disorder, so I've witnessed a lot of what people in that situation may go through.

I'm a strong believer that the everyday person is in complete control of their emotions whether they're aware of it or not, so I really feel for those who can have that control wrested from them at a moments notice.

 

[Something Amyss]

I have OCD, a severe and chronic anxiety disorder, possibly General anxiety as well, and relatively mild bouts of depression. And that's just me.

Both parents are OCD, my father is PROBABLY autistic, my mother is a super control freak. I've got an uncle who drunk and stoned himself to death, an Aunt who's a card-carrying sociopath, another aunt whose medical file reads like the index to the DSM, and this is in a family that doesn't talk about problems, so there's probably more.

 

[Bloodtrozorx]

I obtained several firearms from my family in Ohio as it seems my Uncle fell victim to mental illness shortly before passing and had taken to shooting at phantoms and "small people invading his home". Very sad and terrifying.

 

[TerribleAssassin]

Bi-Polar.

It's not fun, but then again, I grin and bear it and joke about it, and if it gets too bad I talk it out.

 

[The Consequence]

Every Day

 

[MammothBlade]

Pure-O OCD used to be pretty nuts. I would fear aliens stalking, ready to torture and kill my family and I, especially at night. That got confused with schizophrenia/psychosis for a bit, but the difference became apparent, I like to torture myself subconsciously ruminating over and over my worst fears until melting point.

 

[Arthran]

I've suffered for years undiagnosed (well, it was raised as a possibility when I was 12, but then my parents decided not to bother following up on it and I've had to deal with it ever since without any support. I'm 27 now). Next week I finally get to see a specialist on the way to hopefully getting my diagnosis for Dyspraxia/whatever related condition it could be.

I could say depression as well, There's a history of depression, Parkinsons and Bi-Polar in my family. I've been suffering with whatever it is from a child and I've had massive bouts of depression over the years as well. I wouldn't say I suffer from depression, more that the main condition I have and the lack of help I have had have caused me to be depressed about it. Been driven to suicide attempts more than a few times over the years.

The social side I've always been a bit "odd", but managed mostly ok. I just find that the condition leaves my mind a jumbled mess constantly, its exceptionally easy to get distracted or lose your train of thought, organisation is an absolute joke and because of this I have spent most of my adult life failing at most endeavors I attempt. This kind of constant failing does wonders for one's self image and the level of self hatred you form over the years really doesn't help the depression.

Recently came out of a 9 year relationship, well I say came out of, the relationship fell apart and 90% of the issues can be traced back to my failings caused by the disorder. My brains inability to cope with daily life has caused me to make so many mistakes over the years I destroyed all that I held dear. I can only commend her for putting up with me for so long. I'm at 2 suicide attempts in the last 2 weeks so far because of this. That feeling of losing everything you ever held dear, and knowing that its your fault because you couldn't manage to be an adult or deal with normal life... It's rather hard to look yourself in the mirror without wanting to scream.

So yeah, dealing with mental illness/mental health issues isn't fun, especially when you spend years undiagnosed being called lazy,useless and boring, and thinking of yourself as completely useless and a waste of space.

 

[excalipoor]

I've been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, at least the latter of which is total bullshit. I may not like me too much, but all in all I'm a pretty positive guy. I'm pretty much convinced that life is the better alternative, even if the internet is dead set on trying to prove that the world is a massive heap of shit. Most of my problems stem from equally massive insecurity.

That said, I'm still the black sheep of the family when it comes to mental health. As far as I know, I'm the only one who's ever been diagnosed to be outside normal parameters. My father (whom I've never met) is a musician though. Who knows how fucked up he is.

I do worry about some of my friends who exhibit the stereotypical behavior of a Finnish man, that is, to deal with problems by drinking oneself into a stupor and hope to remember nothing in the morning. There has to be a better way!

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Medical depression isn't simply not being average or being a little "dark." Someone with that condition, like me, is virtually unable to be happy, because our brains aren't doing their job properly and the chemicals (usually serotonin) aren't being reabsorbed or are being reabsorbed too fast.

I'd love to think this is true. Can you back it up? In my very first reply I said that's not the way doctors diagnose depression. I've personally been diagnosed with depression (though I didn't accept it), and there was no assessment of my serotonin levels. I'm just saying that doctors do not, and cannot, distinguish between feeling dark and our brains functioning differently from normal. Medical depression is not based on any biochemical considerations but on whether or not doctor thinks you appear to be depressed, regardless of the cause.

 

[Arthran]

I see it as there is 2 forms of Depression, Emotional depression is when you depressed over things in life/emotions and its something that passes. Medical depression is where your brain finds new and exciting ways to make everything really sad. Neither is fun, but there is a difference between having a lot of horrible crap to deal with and your brain just not wanting you to be happy ever.

Luckily I know I'm in the first category and not the 2nd

 

[The_Echo]

One of my friends has really bad anxiety, and has seizures sometimes, though I don't know if that's related to anything. My brother has had cerebral palsy his whole life, instigated by a medical screw-up when he was a babby. My mom has depression, and my older sister used to be bipolar. I'm not sure if she still is. My younger sister has... something. There's been no specified diagnosis, but it's confirmed something's wrong with her. My niece didn't suffer from a mental illness per se, but she was born with only a small portion of her brain developed. Needless to say, she passed just under a year from her birth.

I myself, however, have a fairly normal brain.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

My girlfriend has social anxiety and loves Silent Hill, so she fell in love with Yahtzee when she found both those things out. I know a lot of people medicated for one reason or another. Some people deal with it better than others. My girlfriend does well enough with it, but she's going to be trying a new medication soon.

I have SA as well. Though now that my family knows what I have is an actual mental condition, they use it against me.

You see, over the past couple of years, my mom has been sick. Well she's always been sick with on thing or another, but recently, things have got worse since she retired. One problem that at least me and her doctors point out is that she now doesn't want to keep active and do things for herself. It is like now she just wants one big pity party for herself.

My problem is I haven't been able to find work since I got out of college and I'm living with her right now. I understand that because I'm not working I need to do more things around the apartment to keep it up and to help her out, but it's got to the point that she only does around 5% of things herself, if even that. As of the past couple months it has got to where I have to go out by myself to go grocery shopping and pick up her medicines, and even do her laundry at the laundromat.

Her doctor told her that in order to get most of the way better, she has to get active. The problem is she's using her illness as an excuse to not do anything and to "keep me busy" while I don't have work. I'm even doing the simple stuff for her, like bringing her stuff to drink and eat, 95% of the time now. It's hard for me to have the energy to go out and find work now.

She keeps saying that if I find work, that she would be fine and will be able to do things herself while I'm at work, but then after I ask her to prove it(because it will be good for her health to get active), she yells at me and says I'm a slacker and should do everything for her because I don't have a job.

What I'm getting at is that my problem is that the rest of my family agrees with her, my dad(her ex-husband) and my brother. And when I refuse at times to keep on doing all of her outdoor errands for her, that she should be doing them herself to get herself active again, her and the rest of my family say it is just me making an excuse because of my social anxiety. They tell me I'm crazy because of my views that she needs to start doing somethings for herself. They literally call me, mental, stupid, and a slacker, and all the time if I'm really taking my medication.

It pisses me off because, everybody outside the family(accept her friends) is on my side and thinks she is lazy and nuts, while in the family I'm the crazy one. I'm run down because I have to do things on her schedule, and her schedule is always NOW. When I rebel and get behind in doing things, my family keeps asking, "We wonder how you ever got through college without us around?" And the answer I always give and they always brush off is, "I had plenty of time to do things on my own schedule, a more relaxed schedule that fit the way I like to live my life."

So really, I consider my family to be true mental...and blind ones. I had planned to keep going through college and break through my anxiety by getting and MFA in English so that I could become a professor, but my family ruined that for me as well, as they pounded into me at the time that I was crazy for wanting to do that, and that I should just come home and find work, and take care of my mom. So now, two years later, no job, and I'm stuck at home taking care of my bankrupt and not truly invalid mother. Boy, and my family is so clueless on why lately I've been pissed off and in a bad mood everyday.

My life has truly become one of those stereotypes that I thought was something that was only in fiction on TV.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

snip

Clinical depression is the brain's fault. Being depressed is the environment's fault. They are very different.

That's the theory. What I'm saying is that there's no way to distinguish the two in practice, so for clinical purposes the distinction doesn't exist. Unlike say, a heart attack, where there is a way of measuring if someone has actually had one and isn't a bit nervous over breaking up with his wife last night.

Do you know what 'clinical' means? It means relating to a clinic. In a clinical diagnosis of depression the brain is not even looked at - take a look at the DSM psychiatric manuals. So I don't see how you can say clinical depression differs from being depressed.

 

[axlryder]

I have several. Most of them are a result of nasty business from my childhood and genetic factors. I'm not medicated or in therapy though. I probably should be.