I worry that the mentally ill shall face some of the same "treatment" as did US Muslims after 9/11.

[Denninmi]

13. Great post. Thank you for caring.

When I was diagnosed as bipolar back in August, I literally felt it was a death sentence, not because of the disease process itself, but because of the implications it had for me in terms of employment, family life/relationships, social status, finances. I couldn't imagine any scenarios where I didn't lose my job, be rejected by my family, ostracized and ridiculed by society, and end up medically and otherwise bankrupt. I literally saw my future ending in homelessness, some facility, or jail. And frankly, prior to hearing the term "bipolar" I never had "suicidal intent"' but leaving the psychiatrist's office that day, I thought very, very seriously about finding some large, solid concrete structure along the freeway that I could drive straight into at 90 MPH and effectively end my problems.

i was very, very close to doing that out of fear that it was game over for me, because all of this was a very bitter pill to swallow for a middle class guy from an upper middle class suburb who has multiple college degrees, has alway worked full time, is a caregiver to my elderly mother, takes care of two houses and yards, and has never in my life been in any kind of trouble. I live in a great community, work in another, and frankly I do enjoy all of the things, material and non-material, that this lifestyle encompasses. It didn't help that, on my route home from that fateful appt, I have to drive directly by the local men's shelter, where the homeless guys mill about waiting to be let in for the night. I thought I would be in that queue for a bed within a matter of months. Left me terrified.

And then I spent three weeks in a psychiatric day program, where I saw things that left me convinced that yes, a lot of this is about profit for someone at the expense of the patient. It seems to me that "treatment" for mental health issues for many people is a merry-go-round of expensive hospitalizations, expensive doctors, therapists, and very, very expensive drugs. The retail price of ONE TABLET of Abililfy is about $34, about $1000 a month. Since my crap insurance doesn't cover prescriptions, I am on the cheap generic stuff. A lot of patients "buy into it" and quit fighting for themselves, for whatever reason, and they live in, and seem to live for, the permanent mental health crisis.

NOT ME. NO WAY. I saw enough then and there to say "Oh Hell No" to that one. I am doing everything I possibly know how to do to run away from this dark vision of my future as if Satan himself were chasing me. Bad timing, I guess, but on Friday, I had worked up the courage to "come out" about my condition and treatment to my little corner of the DU community. And everyone was kind, gracious, understanding, and supportive.

Then all Hell broke loose because of one man, one meme, and I find a lynch mob mentality towards anyone with a mental health issue right here on DU. Because, you know, the fact that the good old USA is armed to the teeth isn't the problem, it's those damned crazy people, who should all be locked away for the good of society. I don't really need to use the "sarcasm" emoticon here, do I?

News flash for the haters, I am no one's second class citizen and I won't be treated like one. Frankly, I'm a hell of a lot better man than many "normal" people running around this society, I don't drink, lie, cheat on a SO, not pay my bills or taxes, and I treat other people with kindness and respect. The fact that I have a genetically based "mood disorder" doesn't make me any less human than the rest of you.

So, if they want to label me, ostracize me, and lock me up because I'm bipolar, they better be aware of the fact I'm not going down without a fight.