((((Resident Bipolar)))))

I think that is why there is a trigger icon with the question. It has been said that depression is anger turned inwards. That may be true in different ways, it can be so crippling for some, some have it worse than others. And they are constantly studying the brain and trying to understand why it happens and how to resolve it.

For myself, with what I have, I have been trying very hard to understand how it effects me and like Venus I am trying to work it out in my mind thinking of different ways to address it. One of the things that really triggers me is when someone says"Just Get Over it" or that "It is my fault" or anything that is invalidating the fact that it is a real issue and truely not easy to overcome. Part of what I have presents things in my past that effected me in ways I could have never imagined. I honestly thought I had coped through many extreme challenges. I am extremely confused and even feel angry at the fact that inspite all my efforts, it caused real changes in my brain. In many ways when I read the opinions of Venus I understand what she means about trying to embrace an illness and find ways to consciously work through the challenges mental illness presents. I thought I could do it myself, but it is more complicated than I thought and I have needed assistance in understanding what it means to have acute PTSD. And I have to admitt that I have a lot of anger and frustration with it and I want to overcome it so badly, and often I have such a tremendous urge to somehow jump out of my body and leave all of the illness behind. I understand what she means about the frustrations of medication and even in doctors it is very challenging to make choices and even to trust.

The hate that is expressed in this thread is that of Mental Illness more than anything else. Sometimes members forget that when conflict arises it is arising through Mental Illness. Mental Illness truely effects one's perception of themselves, of others, and life itself. One thing mental illness causes is self absorbtion. Self absorbtion can go unnoticed in someone with mental illness. That in itself is a symptom of mental illness. In PC all the members are struggling with various forms of Mental Illness.
We come here for comfort and advice and even to hear someone else tell us that we are not alone and they feel our Mental confines as well. Outside PC, most of the members are very alone with their Mental Illness and very misunderstood. And I am sure that all the members wonder if they are capable of being able to somehow be a part of society and fruitful interactions amongst others.

The question put forth in this thread is not such a bad question. It is something that many of the members wonder if some of mental illness is somehow embraced or even a way to learn on a deeper level. By reading the different views on this question it can be interesting to see what others truely think about this area of Mental Illness. The is one of the things I personally like about PC, because it gives all members and opportunity to address their own personal feelings and measure them along with others, that is part of how we all learn.

As I learn about my own mental illness and became a member of PC, I was experiencing the symptoms of what I have and not knowing what they mean. I was progressing deeper into what I have, I began to see enough that showed me that I had to stop and truely educate myself about what I have. I have been triggered a lot in PC and each time I am triggered I stop and think about why I am triggered and then I learn something, something I had not noticed about myself. If we don't know what is broken how can we even begin to fix it? And we do need to think about what we do embrace in our mental illness that may not be helpful and may only serve to progressing further into the mental illness. It truely is a challenge, so presenting questions like this can be fruitful.

My input was to encourage seeking help and perhaps thinking about some causes that someone may not be investigating. I know personally that had I not been able to learn more about what I address, I may have been totally crippled by what I have. The more I know the more I can make efforts to address what I have better. I strongly recommend to anyone who suffers from mental illness to continue searching for all of the reasons and reality about what they might be addressing. If anyone is still suffering by all means continue to seek help.

As we all put forth our oppinions and questions we must truely keep in mind that any input we get is only coming from another person who may be struggling with a different disorder that may present different symptoms. We are addressing each other here from all over the world, all different cultures and living conditions. There are so many different kinds of mental illnesses here at PC which will present a variety of reactions in any thread presented. NONE of us are professionals or medical doctors, we are all doing our best to find ways to function better within our uniqueness, mental illness, and whatever environment we come from and live in today.

Personally, all I can do is present my own life experiences, what I have learned and how I have coped etc.
I am not expecting another member to think I have all the answers or that I am the all knowing, because that I truely am not, no one here is. All I can do, any of us can do, is put forth our personal oppinion and offer some ways to perhaps think about each others personal challenges differently. Venus is correct, none of us can truely know the depths of her struggles. All any of us can do is offer food for thought to the best of our ability.

Open Eyes