mental illness
By syankee525
@syankee525 (6261)
United States
June 27, 2008 1:26pm CST
i am not shy to tell people that i have bipolar, and have manic depression one bit. i also have adhd and a few things that hell i can;t even say let alone spell.
but i when i tell people this i hear all kind of crazy things. that either they don;t belive in bipolar or depression. and how people should be able to control their anger no matter what. and the best of all it's all in my head, well yeah duh... chemical imbounce.. so silly.
i also hear people say or ask, ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ME????? no i am not unless you give me a reason like hurt someone in my family.
but we all have bipolar, but it takes something bad to happen to us to make it come out. in my case, back in 96, the beginning i lost my mom and aunt in a car crash, then towards the end of 96 i was hurt at work, i had injurie to my spinal cord, thank God i can still walk. then i had other medical issues that came up.
but for those who think that people with mental health should be able to control thierself, at first and depend how bad they are and what they have. they can;t. myself i went through therpty, and anger management class. touch on issues from the pass. now here it's 11 yrs since i was told i had bipolar and depression and happy to say i am med free. i had only two really bad outburstes since being off meds.
i still have days i battle with depression, but i know how bless i am these days. i still have days my mind wonders off and on.
i still got time i do thing out of impuse as well, nothin bad of later.
so yes mental illness is real, it's an real illness. depresion is real. i knew why i was depres. but there was days i didn't know why.
so if you or someone you knows that has mental illness if you are welly to fight it, and able to put over 100% in treatment you can med free. but you also got to know when you need meds,
i've been bless to have such a wonderful doctor in ths feild to help me. i also met other people who suffer from this illness.
2 people like this
8 responses
@myhairbow (48)
• United States
28 Jun 08
my sister has adhd and bipolar and she was in a group home(long story there)anyhow i got custody of her when she was 15.i went to visit her oneday and she was in a mental hospital for really now reason except a kid being a kid.over medicating her as well.they had her on 9 differnt types of medicine to cure they same thing.so when i got custody of her i took her off all her meds changed her diet and made her join some after school activities.well needless to say she graduated high school with honors she is now 21 yrs old going on 22 married and has a 6 month old son.so i think anyone with adhd or bipolar or anythign similar to that can over come it like my sister and you you syankee.i know im very proud of what my sister has accomplished and everyone else that has should be proud of them selves as well.
2 people like this
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
28 Jun 08
wow high to your sister from me. please her know i am proud of her as well.. and tell keep up the good job..
2 people like this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
27 Jun 08
Hi Yankee, my husband and I hear the same comments from people because he has PTSD with depression and, like you, it doesn't show...like a missing limb would. I get so frustrated hearing comments about how he faked out the V.A. and that he's fine. He's not fine, he has horribly low days even with medication and sometimes it's a real struggle for him. He can't take any kind of stress which is why we moved down here to an area with a slower pace and why we fought the V.A. for five years for his benefits.
I'm glad you're doing well and that you have a great doctor. Larry hasn't found what he needs as far as his mental health care through the V.A. is concerned so we may go outside in search of someone he can trust and work with. Meanwhile, he'll have to continue on meds but it would be nice if he could eventually stop taking them.
2 people like this
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
28 Jun 08
let him know, if he don't like or don't feel comfortable with the doctor or therpist get another one.. that is the biggest part that helped me having people who i was comforable with
and for him to keep his faith up,
wish him the very best
2 people like this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
28 Jun 08
i really admire your courage to admit all your weaknesses here... i think that is the first step to improve yourself... if you are willing to open up yourself and admit your weaknesses, then i believe there is always hope for you to get better... as you say, you already get better and you don't need to be on medications anymore... my hubby has ADHD as well and he can't control his tempers as well... so i can really relate to what you are saying... i am struggling everyday to deal with his emotions... take care and have a nice day...
2 people like this
@nelly5 (1424)
• United States
27 Jun 08
Good for you that you admit these things openly. It is nothing to be ashamed of, even though society makes it seem that way. Mental illnesses (chemical imbalances) are nothing that you can help, it isn't your fault that you have a mental illness. God makes us all different and our brains were not excluded in the process. I am proud of you for handling bipolar and whatever else it is that you deal with. It is great that you are med free now. I have a 13 year old son who has bipolar and it has been a long rough road for some time now. I feel that his medicine is finally leveling the playing field and maybe it might be helping him now...I hope so anyhow. I tell my son the same thing, that bipolar is not in any way his fault and nothing to be ashamed about. He really felt ashamed about it for a while, but now he is more open about it with his friends. Thanks for sharing this with us. Have a great day!
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
28 Jun 08
yeah tell him don;t be ashame of it. and once he get to that point where everything level out at, he can brag he got the best of it..
i know i was kind ashame going to mental health then i decided who cares if anyone know i am going. at least i am man enough to do what i need to do. so when someone started to make fun of me, saying oh you must be cazy going to mental health. so i gave him a evil look, then said with a grin yeah so i would beat the crap out of you for being dumb lol. he said nothing else .
but i wish your son the best through his battle. and may he be strong enough. keep being there for him.
he will be alright as long he stay tough..
2 people like this
@eachen2002 (889)
• United States
28 Jun 08
I'm glad that someone out there has been able to conquer at least some of the demons that dwell inside alot of us.I was diagnosed with long term depression,i know what the medical term is i just can't spell it.i reasearch alot about it and i still have a time trying to understand it.I've had to do alot of work to try and combat the illness and some days it's so hard i don't even know i make it.My family has been there with me alot but not always very supportive.I still struggle everyday to keep going but i often wonder if the struggle is worth it.i'm still on meds and i don't know if i will ever get off them,I know what u mean by what people say,i keep to myself alot except the 2 days i work and i barely make it every week i go,i think about quitting every week and i wonder what keeps me going back,maybe it's the people i work with or that i work so hard at my job and keep things going the best i can.
2 people like this
@hentracks (1)
•
28 Jun 08
I've been diagnosed with both clinical depression and Dysthymia but unfortunately can only take medication to treat the one. I've also been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder which I'm not entirely convinced I have.
Anyway, I've had the depression since I was 19 years and I'm now 38. In this time, I've come across varying reactions to my 'illness' and my view is, love me, love my depression. Basically, it's a big part of me and if anyone can't understand or accept it, then they're not worth knowing.
However, the worse treatment I've experienced has been from those closest to me: family. I've been labelled a number of different things because of my condition including other personality disorders. These have been the most hurtful.
Unfortunately, there will be always a varying amount of stigma attached to mental health difficulties because it cannot be 'seen' or understood.
I wish you all the best :)
2 people like this
@lazeebee (5461)
• Malaysia
28 Jun 08
Hi, happy to hear that you are med free! I've a relative who has mental illness, and we didn't understand him. When he went off his medication, we didn't know - it got really bad, until he tried to kill himself. Right now, he's okay - really good. But we have to check with him, to make sure that he's taking his medication. Depression is real - so I hope you have family members or people to support and understand you. God bless you!
1 person likes this
@pixiedustforyou2008 (2422)
• United States
14 Jul 08
I have bipolar type 2 and adhd... They have me one abilify and celexa and Adderall
