EscapeArtist
Well-known member
Do you consider yourself mentally ill? Why or why not, and if not what are you?
Do you consider yourself mentally ill?
- Thread starter EscapeArtist
- Start date
Yes, because I have a problem which is mental and it hinders my day to day life.
I'd consider that an illness
I'd consider that an illness
WeirdyMcGee
Well-known member
Well, I do have a mental illness... so yes.
haha
haha
Kiwong
Well-known member
Yes, my anxiety interferes so much with my life. I have had numerous panic attacks, and that is a indicator of mental illness. It was suggested by a therapist and a GP that I suffer from generalised anxiety disorder. Last July I called a mental health crisis line because I couldn't eat or sleep for a week due to complications with my anxiety.
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hoddesdon
Well-known member
I used to think of it as just an aspect of personality. However, it does involve seeing things as being other than they really are e.g. the conviction that everyone dislikes or looks down on you. That is similar to psychosis. Also, the fact that reading much of what other people write makes me feel that I am listening to myself shows that it is a medical condition. That is the good news, though, since it is not an integral part of yourself, you are not just weird etc.
kihira
1
Yes I do, but the severity of it comes and goes. I consider my anxiety to have been treated, medicated, still there but now under control; and my depression is akin the having the flu, I get a bout of it now and then, some times worse than others, but if I'm attentive to my mental health it is less frequent and I can get over it quicker. I accept that, like colds and flu, I will always have my mental ills now and then, and that I can ride it out or seek help if I'm going too far under.
JohnnyJohnW
Member
I go to a psychiatrist, but because of sleeping problems. So, no, I do not consider myself a mentally ill person.
vj288
not actually Fiona Apple
It may just be the terminology, but I don't consider myself mentally ill. I don't think there is anything inherently "wrong" with my mental functioning. Maybe someone on the outside looking in would disagree, but it doesn't feel like that to me so I don't consider myself mentally ill.
What makes a person "mentally ill" is defined by society, and I don't do any of the behaviors or cognitions of a mentally ill person based on what I have been socialized to believe is mentally ill.
What makes a person "mentally ill" is defined by society, and I don't do any of the behaviors or cognitions of a mentally ill person based on what I have been socialized to believe is mentally ill.
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EscapeArtist
Well-known member
I'm quite surprised by the answers, actually. VJ I feel very much the same way, I don't consider myself mentally ill at all.
There's a guy across the street that stares out the window all day long from his house. When I eat at the table he just sits there and watches me. When I exclaimed that it was odd, my sister said that he was a mentally ill person. What does that mean these days? Depressed, anxious, or schizophrenic, mentally impaired/retarded? Could he just be housebound, or is unable to live unassisted for some reason? The term seemed very unclear.
I used, and still do, assume that mentally ill means that there is a huge deformity that cannot be reversed in the brain.
Oh, adding to this
I think defining oneself as mentally ill can impair their progress. When I found SPWorld 1-2? years ago (wow I've been on here too long) I immediately thought "Oh, I have a mental illness!" and stopped going to school completely using it as an excuse. Maybe that's just me, lol. But putting a label on it to me makes it seem more irreversible, as it has the danger of becoming a part of your identity.
There's a guy across the street that stares out the window all day long from his house. When I eat at the table he just sits there and watches me. When I exclaimed that it was odd, my sister said that he was a mentally ill person. What does that mean these days? Depressed, anxious, or schizophrenic, mentally impaired/retarded? Could he just be housebound, or is unable to live unassisted for some reason? The term seemed very unclear.
I used, and still do, assume that mentally ill means that there is a huge deformity that cannot be reversed in the brain.
Oh, adding to this
I think defining oneself as mentally ill can impair their progress. When I found SPWorld 1-2? years ago (wow I've been on here too long) I immediately thought "Oh, I have a mental illness!" and stopped going to school completely using it as an excuse. Maybe that's just me, lol. But putting a label on it to me makes it seem more irreversible, as it has the danger of becoming a part of your identity.
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kihira
1
I see mental illness as the opposite of mental healthiness and that there are degrees within it - severe, mild, temporary, permanent - and I attach no stigma to it.Stigma and discrimination
"Mental illness attracts less empathy and more distrust than other forms of illness. People may consciously or unconsciously blame the people with mental illness for their condition, implying a character flaw rather than a disorder. Another misconception is that mental illness is a "life sentence" with no chance of recovery. Some people believe that those with mental illness are unable to contribute to society: that they cannot work, study, be good parents, or take on other roles. In fact, the experience of mental illness varies widely in terms of symptoms, treatment and life impact. Some people experience only a single episode. Others have an illness in which episodes recur and they need ongoing management and treatment, but some will be well much of the time.
"
takethislife
Well-known member
I'd say sa is just a part of who i am.
Rembrandt Broam
Well-known member
I would probably consider my anxiety to be the mental equivalent of something like an allergy.
If I had an allergy to dairy products, I would have to adapt my life to avoid eating products that contained dairy, but I wouldn't describe myself as being ill.
In the same way, I have to adapt my life to work around my anxiety. It does have an impact on the way I live, but not to a seriously debilitating extent and not in ways that I can't accommodate.
If I had an allergy to dairy products, I would have to adapt my life to avoid eating products that contained dairy, but I wouldn't describe myself as being ill.
In the same way, I have to adapt my life to work around my anxiety. It does have an impact on the way I live, but not to a seriously debilitating extent and not in ways that I can't accommodate.