You are not crazy. You have an illness but you are not your illness. It is only a label. I think the media is to blame for a lot of the sterotyping of the mentally ill. And, so called, normal people buy into the hype after all they have know way of understanding mental health issues if they don't have them.

I can't tell you why people are cruel. I suspect it is fear of the unknown. And who knows, some of those that are cruel may have a mental illness themselves and it is untreated. Hang in there.

I'm sorry you have been treated as less than because that is only in the eyes of the one that trys to undermine you to make themselves look better.