MotownJohnny, I'm right there with you. Even worse than being labeled "mentally defective" is the fact that the treatment has not yet worked for me, and it sounds like it hasn't worked for you, either. If I felt I had gotten something out of all the attempts at getting better, I suppose I could live with the stigma.

I've been at this since I was 16 years old and now I'm 51. Like you, I feel that I have been given every advantage. And yet, I've still failed. I have taken every medication, tried every type of therapy, and have been hospitalized three times. The fact that all this has failed leaves me, at times, completely hopeless. I certainly feel stigmatized and am increasingly feeling like there is no way out.

I hear your desperation and totally get it. But don't worry so much about what labels others put on you; just focusing on getting better. That's what we all have to do. Easier said than done, I know.