I have bipolar II (among other issues) and sometimes I feel selfish for seeking treatment. Why should I use my parents' health insurance so that I can see a psychiatrist? Why should I spend 50 minutes a week in therapy talking exclusively about my issues? Add in the fact that only 1 in 3 people with bipolar are in treatment for it, and I cannot help but feel like a weak, self-absorbed loser who is simply unwilling to overcome her little problems on her own.

Recently, however, while spending time with a friend who has diagnosed but untreated dysthymia, I was provided with a new prospective on this issue. I saw what it was like to be the *friend* of someone with a mental disorder, rather than just the person directly affected. Neither she nor I was having a good night when we got together. I desperately needed someone to ask me if I was alright, to listen to me moan, to reassure me that everything was going to be alright. I am certain that my poor friend probably needed the same kind of support. However, we were both too absorbed in our own suffering to "be there" for the other person. By not treating her disorder, my friend had unintentionally caused me harm. My negligence to get adequate treatment (I am not on meds and have been out of therapy for two months) likewise hurt my friend.

So, I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of unselfish reasons to seek help for psychiatric problems. Perhaps if we reflected more on how our illnesses hurt others, we would be more likely to seek the treatment that would reduce both their and our suffering.

I'll start:
1. You should get help so that you can hold the tissue box for a hurting friend. (any condition that causes pain)

2. You should get help so that your children don't have to endure a childhood of canceled plans and broken promises because their parent is sick. (depression, bipolar, BPD)

3. You should get help so that your friends don't have to wonder if they have somehow wronged you when your illness causes you to isolate yourself. (depression, bipolar, BPD)