The point is not that mental illness comes from being a malingerer or personal failing. I think we all experience symptoms which can make life very difficult to function through. Nobody is saying you can just ‘get over it.’ But how we deal with these symptoms is a choice. It is not all chemicals and brain structures. To get where I am, I had to choose to do the work I do.

I really think this is the elephant in the room that nobody wants to discuss – the times I could cut but struggle to find a way not to. The times when the negative thoughts are alluring and threaten to overwhelm, but I fight them off… and the times when I do not. When it’s just easier to go through the bad moments than to do the work, even when I know I could probably do some very uncomfortable things to lessen my bad experiences. At what point am I held accountable for this? We all have our crosses in life to bear. When does the element of personal responsibility come back on me for not appropriately dealing with the problems I have? Because it’s not always that I ‘can’t,’ particularly after I’ve learned coping mechanisms. But that it’s so damn difficult and daunting sometimes and requires too much energy. Am I not still responsible for maintaining myself?

As for the discussion on PTSD – is it really considered to be ‘disordered’ to experience some difficulties because you killed someone and were almost killed yourself? I agree that I would be worried if someone did not experience aftereffects due to these kinds of extreme situations. Nobody’s trying to be disrespectful or undermine the suffering of these people. On the contrary – maybe it requires more than modern psychology can fully account for? Psychology is a science. It’s distant and detached, even while trying to help. And there are some personal issues it does not tackle well. I think looking at the brain certainly has it’s place, but sometimes the problems run deeper, and more help than just psychological help is needed for these problems.