Poll: Mental disorders and you: Would you get rid of it if you could?

[Fall from Honor]

being bipolar myself, I have learned to deal with it, getting rid of it would be like chopping of a limb. On the other hand, I can fully understand people who would prefer to be fully "normal". Furthermore, I during my most depressive and my most manic times, I tend to be more creative, which is quite useful.
During a manic episode I feel like I am on top of the world and even though I feel like shit during a depressive episode, I like these "high" feelings so much, that I will not get rid of them, no matter what.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Umm, yeah I'd get rid of the depression. It'd make life a hell of a lot easier...

 

[Logarithmic Limbo]

PTSD, OCD, cyclothymia, social phobias, I would lose them in a heartbeat if I could. But it ain't gonna happen. Life sucks, and then you die.

 

[Prof. Monkeypox]

Yes.

Depression fucking sucks.

There is no upside.

People with chronic depression cannot see the upside of depression.

...uh... yeah, being depressed all the time sucks. I can't have fun even when I'm having fun.
I'd already consider get rid of it by meds, why not this magic button.

 

[Aphex Demon]

I've got ADD, and if I could repair that broken part of my brain then YES I would do it in less than a heartbeat. It has caused me so much misery and ... wait, this isn't supposed to be that kind of thread. But by way of explanation: It's like being blind to time, if time were one of those hedge mazes and it had needle-sharp thorns on the branches. Whenever I overshoot a deadline or forget to do something I run into the "wall" of the maze, simultaneously injuring myself and looking like a fool.

People like me are often blessed with a constant stream of new ideas, but it's impossible to identify which of these I would have if I didn't have ADD. And since the inability to organize or follow through on them is so incredibly disheartening ...

Yeah, I would trade that flood of ideas I never act on for things like:

* Stable friendships and romantic relationships
* Career stability
* A clean house
* An increased ability to take care of myself
* A high school diploma and a college degree (I've never graduated from ANYTHING)
* An end to the need for therapy and medications just to be closer to the norm
* An end to the embarrassment and guilt that comes with forgetting things
* An end to disappointing and failing those I care about

But it really comes down to this: I'm reasonably bright but I'm greatly hindered by my condition. With medication and the right kind of structure to a day I come close to being who I would be without ADD.

When I'm in that zone I know I never want to go back.

I have ADD too, I didnt do too well at school either.

I no longer take medication, I'm trying to train my brain to deal with my life naturally.

Also, if you have ADD you aint getting into the forces. So ive been off Ritalin (If that's how you spell it) for around a year now, its the best thing ive done, ever.

 

[Eisenfaust]

i would like to get rid of guilt... as is planned in my thesis

not technically a mental disorder (technically) but nevertheless something along the same lines that i'd like to be rid of

 

[Aphex Demon]

It is rare. What is not rare are maladjusted introverts with no social skills who choose to blame a real mental condition for their inability to hold a conversation with another human being.

Sorry if I'm sounding like a douche, but Asperger's Syndrome is a real mental condition which has serious effects on the people who suffer from it. When I read the title of this thread, before so much as clicking it, I raised my hand and said "this thread will be full of people talking about their Asperger's Syndrome. One of them might even have it."

If you have Asperger's Syndrome, know that this is not directed at you. But the vast majority of you don't. Stop piggybacking on a serious mental condition as an excuse for your social awkwardness, and consider the possibility that you don't integrate with others well because you never fucking talk to anybody.

i actually do have medically diagnosed aspergers, although doctors had originally pinned it on ADHD until i was about ten years old. been taking various meds to help me focus on school for god knows how many years now, including one that screwed up my appetite so bad that i still barely eat during the day, even though i changed medications years ago.

i get obsessed with collecting things, used to be stuff like toys and crap(even tidbits of junk that appeared slightly interesting at the time), but i managed to take a deeper interest in gaming before i reached high school (thank god, i can't imagine how badly ridiculed i would have been for taking action figures or something to school at that age).

although i now channel my collection obsession towards tabletop wargaming, that aspect of my personality will probably never change.

i may as well also mention my tics, i have stupid impulses to click my fingers repeatedly,run my fingers through my hair whilst twiddling them and a variety of other little things that i do without even consciously realising it when i get worked up or excited. i assume these things would look extremely weird from another persons perspective at the time.

anyways, i've ranted on long enough and probably not gotten close to explaining all of my quirks and whatnot, but i'm too tired to actually bother typing up any more.

Jesus christ. I have ADD...

What you just explained is exactly the same as me, exactly the same. (Do you chew random shit all the time?)

I'm not hyper though, im calm and collected but I do exactly the same shit as you. I'm obsessed with gaming too, which is wierd. I also have a pretty good social life, I love all my friends and family and I live life to the full to be fair. Are you the same in that way at all?

 

[jack583]

no.
i'm curiose as to where aspergers syndrome will lead me

 

[Latinidiot]

They are very interesting parts of the human pyche. I haven't been diagnosed with anything, so I have no experience in that, but I have a friend who suffered from it, and in those terms of view: yes, I might.

 

[Illesdan]

No. Then I'd be a boring normal person.

As shitty a movie as it was, I'd have to quote Captain Kirk from Star Trek V: 'Damn it, Bones, you're a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away! I need my pain!'

Sounds like several of my older male relatives who are well on their way to drinking themselves to an early grave.

I'm still suffering from depression but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. I had a fear before I started therapy that maybe my depression was part of my personality and that without it I'd lose a part of myself, especially my empathy and creativity. Of course, recovering from depression has only made me more empathetic, more creative and a better person on the whole. The idea that depression is part of your personality is just a complete myth.

I can't comment on things I haven't gone through myself though, like Asperger's, which actually is intrinsic to a person.

I don't have depression. I have post tramatic stress disorder brought on by having to care for my grandmother from the age of twelve to twenty-four. When I was eleven-fourteen years old, I seriously considered suicide just because the three people I cared about the most on this planet died within a sixteen month span. I have paranoia; but I've got a better handle on it than I did when I was a teenager. I used to go into fits of rage for no reason, but I've found ways to control my temper. I don't like/don't trust most people I meet. I'm also genderqueer.

I have two close friends who have severe depression, and, I have to agree it is a terrible mental illness. Unlike my problems where I can just tell myself to 'knock it off', they can't do that, and it is sad to watch when they get in that bad a state. Thankfully, they both have enough sense to take medication, otherwise I know something very bad would happen.

 

[EmperorSubcutaneous]

Yes.

I have depression, anxiety, and ADD. I also have allergies and poor eyesight. I would like to rid myself of all of these because there is no upside to any of them. (Except possibly the ADD, so I'd save it for last.)

Whether or not I was dealt this hand in life, they impair my ability to function. The only time I think the "it's how you were born, deal with it" mindset applies is if you want to change something about yourself only for approval or vanity.

And as for it being familiar or a part of me, everything is changing all the time. Including myself. I'm not afraid of change, as long as I do my best to ensure that it's a positive change. Also, I'm confident that I will never be "normal."

As to the whole "waving a magic wand" aspect, that only applies if it's something that you can actually do something about. If you want to lose weight, yes you should work at it. Easy solutions don't apply there. None of my issues can be solved through hard work, only through medication or surgery. Which is similar to waving a magic wand, only more expensive and not as effective. (If magic wands were real, obviously.)

 

[Nocturnal Gentleman]

Absolutely. Let's see the upside of the magic button treatment:

* I'll actually be able to focus on what I'm doing
*My personality and mood won't be all over the place
*I don't have to worry about doing something completely dangerous when mania throws common sense out the window
*I'll have a normal social life (no more outcast status for me!)
*I won't be the butt of every crazy person joke
*I won't have to reveal a stigmatizing disorder every time I sign up for things like a driver's license
*I won't have people who are either afraid of me or treat me like a circus attraction
*I'll finally have consistent energy levels
*No weird sounds/visions
*NO MEDS

Normal life is a pain enough. Why deal with a mental disorder if you don't have to?

 

[SenorNemo]

*ping*
Another escapist with Asperger's Syndrome here (not self diagnosed) >_>

It used to be much more present than it is now: I used to be at the same time the weirdest and most boring kid that ever existed, obsessed with aeronautics and Star Trek and things to the point where I no longer enjoyed them for why I liked them in the first place, blundering witlessly and unwittingly through life.

Now it's faded away significantly. I have eclectic interests, am mild mannered, and am actually averted to routine. Yet, it's faded away enough for me to realize what an inept, useless, general failure of a man I still am. I'm in college now, all the friends I once knew a hundred or so miles away, always fearing that I'll make the wrong impression on all the awesome people that pass through my life. I so desperately want to reach out, to make friends, and yet I somehow know that people don't and won't like me. That I still sometimes have trouble picking up on subtitles only makes this hesitance worse. I sit in bed each night, and the memories of stupid things I said and did come back.

So...what...I traded in moderate Asperger's Syndrome for some kind of Avoidant Personality Disorder? I wouldn't go so far as to self-diagnose, but it sure as hell seems like it. Whatever you choose to call this general mishmash of weirdness, it sucks.

At this point, I think the only thing I'd lose if I dumped the Asperger's Syndrome completely would be the ambivalence and uncertainty. I'd press the button in a heartbeat. Besides, if my identity were irrevocably changed, that'd be kind of a good thing. As I am now, I'm totally useless.

The hell did I post this again?

 

[DSK-]

I'm not sure if I do have a mental disorder besides being in the aftermath of a depression and having a bad time trying to sleep, but I've been having problems all my life with the likes of a short attention span, getting bored very quickly, my mind soaking up lots of information without wanting it to, over-analysing things, analysing and thinking about things without actually thinking of them (wierd - I know) and poor maths ability/number blindness.

I've summarised these simplisticly except for the last one. I find it extremely difficult to keep interested and to be 'entertained' by things my family and friends do, what they talk about or what music they are listening to, for example. Nine times out of ten I will normally walk away and do something to occupy my mind or listen to my own music which is pretty fast in BPM and has a great deal of 'depth' (for a lack of a better descriptive word).

It really is hell on Earth at times. I may be doing something at work and various things may loop in my head, such as music, things people have said in the past or recently, images, events, experiences - anything. Sometimes I have points where my head overloads with such things and I need a timeout to let it pass.

I have no idea what I can attribute these things to and I will agree that they have benefitted me in the past however I would gladly get rid of whatever it is that is causing it in a heartbeat.

Sorry if I may be talking bollocks, but it's how I refer to what happens in this strange head of mine >_>

 

[icame]

I don't have any mental disorders personally but I just want to say another thing about those with manic depression(Bipolar)

Apparently many people who have that are also extremely creative because of it, and makes you want to get to wherever you want to be that much more. I just thought that it would be good to say that there are certain benefits to CERTAIN disorders. Cheers!

 

[Calcium]

I'm surprised so many people have disorders, or perhaps people without have just not posted as much.

I'm not diagnosed with anything, but on the idea of changing your mental state at will I'm undecided. I'm immensely shy, and it would be nice to have more confidence, but at the same time it's who I am.

 

[SilentCom]

I having onsets of depression and have become sort of used to it. As a matter of fact, some of my best creative writing comes when I'm feeling depressed.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

This thread makes me feel very fortunate. I'm happy for no reason.

I'm not convinced by the insistance that their is a silver-lining to these disorders. My quality-of-life is most definitly better than that of the annorexic people I have known, and miles better than that of my severely depressed friend. There's nothing good about it, no redeeming value to it...with or without meds, she doesn't function in a way that allows her to take advantage of everything good in life.

I know this comes down to neither side having proper experience of the others circumstance. But, healthy is surely better than unhealthy...by definition, and in practice.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Not sure I really count but god yes...that said it's possible to at least overcome, however it's not bad enough to make it worth the slog in my current situation.