Societies definition of Mental Illness = CRAZY

What is Societies definition of Mental Illness = CRAZY  And I am here to tell you WRONG!  Just like illness such as cancer or heart conditions there are different types of mental illnesses as well as varying degrees of severity and also within each type of illness.  But to society, just the very mention of the word mental illness means you are crazy, period.  No one cares about the details, no one dares to ask you, no one wants to know.  They would just rather assume you are crazy, when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

Take Bipolar for instance, which is the condition I have and I assure you, I am NOT crazy.  "Psychiatrists, realizing a connection greater than coincidence, have performed studies all over the world in an attempt to establish a link between bipolar disorder and creativity" "One common feature in mania or hypo mania is the increase in unusually creative thinking and productivity."  Does that sound like a crazy person?  Now this particular excerpt sounds like me, "The only way bipolar patients can survive their depressed phases, oftentimes, is to unleash their despondency through some creative work".  This is exactly what I do and do it often if and when needed.  It is such a great therapy. 

My point is, once again, fighting the stigma.  Trying to ease people's minds.  Those of us with mental illness are NOT crazy, we just have extra special personalities with extra heightened and/or sensitive personalities, emotions and feelings which when we are regulated on medications are perfectly fine.  We just have to give ourselves some fine tuning every now and then along with a swift kick in the butt.  We also have to surround ourselves with the right type of people.  But as far as you go, don't be scared, don't assume, don't think we're crazy or any less of a person than you are because we are not.  That is just insulting to us.  If you have questions, then PLEASE ask.  It is the only way you'll ever know.

MHMatters - May Mental Health Month

May is Mental Health Month, so what are you doing to support or help?  One major thing you can do to help is to help rid the Stigma that is still attached to Mental Illness.  Mental illness is a real and genuine medical condition that affects a person's thinking pattern, their feelings, mood, ability to relate to others and function in their daily activities and routines.  People with mental illness have just that...an illness, they are not lazy, they're not just negative thinkers by choice, it's their illness.  I get so aggravated and annoyed with the overly "positive" people.  Being positive and telling people to be positive is all well and good, but there are some of us who don't choose to think negative or we simply can't be positive thinkers all the time.  We would certainly love to if we had a choice in the matter, but just like cancer or hepatitis, we don't have the choice of when we are going to be feeling 100% or even 50%. 

Mental Illness is real, it is a disease an illness.  So please, if there is just one thing you do to help support Mental Health Month, please help Stomp out the Stigma!  For more info go to NAMI Stigma Busters  Another great article for May is Mental Health Month can also be found here.  Please won't you show your support?

Have Mental Illness, But Treated As Though You Have The Plague?

Have Mental Illness, But Treated As Though You Have The Plague?

Ever make a new friend and tell them up front about your mental illness with the hope of gaining their trust and understanding, only to find them backing away from you scared? Unfortunately, this is an all to common practice by many who stereo type those of us with mental illness as being “crazy”. Although we know this couldn’t be further from the truth, the stigma is still out there stronger than ever. Believe me, I know. I have Bipolar II a somewhat lesser form of Bipolar I in that I deal more with the depression and have bouts with hypomania rather than full blown mania, but nevertheless I have Bipolar.

Yes, you often get treated as though you have the plague. People find out you have a mental illness and they immediately panic. Wrong thinking comes into play. That dirty word again. Crazy, that's what they stero type you as.  They jump to their own conclusions as to your future friendship or business dealings as to what you might say or do that’s “crazy”. They worry about what others might think of their association with someone who has mental illness. And bottom line, they just think less of you. Like your not as smart, not a capable person or like you wouldn’t make as good a friend as someone else or that your weird or even dangerous.

Telling them up front about your illness is great, but be sure to also reassure them that you are just as worthy as anyone else and deserve the same treatment and respect. The truth of the matter is, speaking for myself and for many others I’m sure. When it comes to my friends and especially business matters, I put my best foot forward. I function at the very top of my game. And as many of you with Bipolar know, you can function very well at the top of your game because those with Bipolar can be very understanding, intuitive, smart, talented and creative. I often have to be smarter and stronger than most to function, just to make it through a day, to survive in the end.

I reserve my true moods, depression or whatever cycle I may be in to deal with in private. How do I do that? Because I am on the correct combination of medicines to manage my Bipolar and because I talk openly about my Bipolar. No, I will never be normal, my illness will not ever go away, but I can manage it fairly well. No I can’t always manage it at 100%, but most times, I do a fantastic job of at least masking it. It’s like they say, “what you see is not always you get” I save that part for private, behind-the-scenes so-to-speak because as I said, I put my best foot forward.

So if your reading this and you are a friend or business acquaintance or you need to reassure your new friends, old friends, business acquaintances or whomever that they need not be worried or treat you like you have the plague because you are just fine, if not better than the average person. And that anyone in life can be dangerous or crazy and can stem from a combination of factors of both nature and nurture. “Crazy” doesn’t discriminate it can affect anyone, anywhere, anytime. So rest assured, your new friends or business acquaintances can be certain you don’t have the plague.