My ex MIL has some very warped views on mental health, she thinks its all myth. I am infuriated inside, but I hold it in and instead of having a go at her, I try to educate her on the subject instead. The only reason I do this, and have anything to do with her, is for the sake of my eldest son because she's his nan. We're pretty sure he has Aspergers, and the last thing I want is for her to be as narrow minded with him as she was his dad. I can't help but think, if she had a better understanding and supported him more, perhaps he wouldn't have suffered so much with depression throughout his life.
It's got nothing to do with how strong someone is, and personally I think those suffering a mh problem who stick with it and try their best to take each day as it comes, are showing real strength. Instead of simply brushing it off. If you're brushing it off you're not acknowledging something when perhaps you should be. I think we're all mostly capable of shrugging off a minor problem, but mh isn't something to be ignored and it takes huge strength to live with a mh problem. You're not weak because of it.