Medicine's big new battleground: does mental illness really exist?

[Neoma]

140. Uh huh...

With the stigma the way it is, people go years without seeking help. People don't want to be labeled. There's a very real "pull yourself by your bootstraps" attitude going on. A guy went into psychward when I was there and went on about, "no offense but I'm not like you people. Where'd that attitude come from exactly? People go off and about thinking it's totally their fault for being sick, and they don't even recognize that they are sick.

I went a full year going to a psychologist. Called him up during my hypomanic attack and he told me to get medical help. I DID try to sort it out without pills, and you know what? I could have gone years having hypomanic attacks almost every night. I am very glad I found what I needed by giving them the benefit of the doubt. I did not want to be labeled and to this day, there's a strong urge to reject it because of how awful people think of people with mental illnesses.

I've met 30-50 year olds that were finally properly diagnosed with bipolar. Heck, one of my friends who is 47 just got newly diagnosed with it. And she hid her symptoms from her doctor for years because she did not want to be labeled as a person with bipolar. For the first time in a very long time, she feels less scattered brained, and more able to do things. She's not staying up 5 nights in a row and hearing voices anymore.

Do you even realize why people go off their medications? Usually it's a firm gesture of, "I am NOT -this label-." They believe they can maybe be happy without pills and working through their issues through other means. They want to be treated as a normal human being again. They think it's big pharma trying to rip them off for being unhappy. I wonder where they get that idea from? These are people who do not need to be off medication. Society is just making it easier for them to pretend that they're not sick. People don't want to go to the doctor because they don't want to be associated as a potential murderer. Since that's how people see mentally ill people after Newtown happened. Can you even fathom that?

As far as I can see it, these types of attitudes is what fucks up people even more. People keep it a secret that they're mentally ill because they don't want to get fired, or to ruin a relationship. The thing is, you might be talking about things that shouldn't be treated with pills, such as Internet addiction or what not. But your message is NOT only going towards people who just need a good therapist, they are heard by people who have very serious mental health problems.