Lauru, I feel so much compassion for you, mainly because I live the same experience. I had come from an horrific upbringing but, as we say in Australia, I "pulled my self up by ther bootstraps" and got three tertiary qualifcations all while working full time and had an amazing 14 year career in Public Relations/Communications, had my own property with a mortgage for 14 years - and all of this was was across the period in which I was a blackout drinking alcoholic (sober now 11 years) and as yet undiagnosed and untreated mental illness. When I was three years sober I admitted that I had mental illness as well and that started my treatment by psychiatrists. Unfortuately that was to begin a period of horror, degradation and losss that made the horror and loss of 18 years of blackout drinking look like a pale imitation. The psychistrists I saw across those 6/7 years grossly mis-prescribed me - I am 100% compliant with my meds and always have been, but I just got sicker and sickjer and sicker and didn;t know what was happening to me - I just thought I was terminally sick with no prospect of rehabilitation. As a result I lost everything - career, house, family and friends, the opportunity to have children due to the years chewed up, of course my sanity and then two years ago nearly my life. I went from being a high income earner in a high status career to being on the Disability Support Pension which is under the poverty line.

I work at a rate of 100% in psychiatry, psychology and in AA, and in all opportunities to getting a step forward in life all the time but my illnesses themselves, as well as the damage caused by those psychiatrists, means that I am a shadow of my former self, have had really excellent potential taken from me.

I think it is really important to acknowledge that some people's live really are like this. There are some people, including me who do not have a support network - my family and friends have largely bailed because of the stigma, bigotry and fear associated with mental illness - certainly not something I have brought on myself. And ironically, there are also many with substance abuse problems and mental illness - but they are not seeking treatment for them like I am so I cannot have those people in my life - and I am a pariah to them because I seek treatment for both - too confronting for them, even though I don't push it into their face. It is great for people with mental illness that do have a strong social support network - I envy you.

So Lauru, thank you for sharing what is going on for you - it helps me to know there are fellow travellers out there.