I don't think it is immoral to be mentally ill, however when your illness makes you do things that are not socially acceptable, we are treated as if we are immoral creatures. Forever and ever, amen!

Is it a character flaw? In the perspective that it is an illness, it should not be considered a flaw. However I personally feel like I have a huge character flaw and am treated as such.

Does it reflect badly on us as people? Again, unfortunately it sure does seem to from the reactions of others. People with obvious signs of disability are discriminated against. Definitely.

Does it reflect badly on our families? No, if the signs of abuse are not easily identified, the reflection points only towards the ill person. Even though the abuse certainly can cause or increase the incidence of a mental illness.

"I think if " normal" people knew just how hard it can be dealing with a mental health issue both medically and sociologically, they would respect us a lot more and ridicule us a lot less." Maybe, there are the compassionate few but I have found it true that unless a person has suffered themselves, they lack understanding and insight about mental illness.

As far as the old cover up goes, that was done rampantly years ago, an ill person was kept away from others and the "secret" was kept as fervently as possible. Probably the reason progress has been very slow in educating the public to be less ignorant. When my family had to acknowledge that I had a serious problem, they kept it under wraps. If I was in the hospital then no extended family was notified of any problems like for all other illnesses. I am sure the truth of the matter was never told.