Well, but all the things we go through with mental illness can also ruin your life with physical illness. For example, we had a patient who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He was a truck driver, but if you're on insulin you're not allowed to be a truck driver. That's because you could have a low blood sugar and cause a major accident (similar to driving drunk.) So he lost his job. After he lost his job his wife left him and took their kids, because she was unable to support the family.

Another example is that people who are diagnosed with terminal illnesses often get abandoned by friends and even family. I know that's terrible and no one wants to think about it. But my mom always would tell my dad how appreciative she was to him for not leaving her. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with bipolar. But it wasn't until she went on disability for chronic degenerative bone disease that her husband left her.

So, no, I wouldn't trade this for physical illness. Life is not easy for anyone. The grass is not greener on the other side.