I like emmy's list, especially about the bag ladies!

But I agree with SkyBDark -- I have never had a mental illness but I can tell you that after living with someone who suffers with severe depression, I don't have to IMAGINE what it's like -- I KNOW. Depression is awful, painful, tragic.

The only thing, IMO, that can POSSIBLY be good about having a mental illness is that you might be more likely to develop compassion for others who suffer from it as well, if you didn't have the compassion to start with. Then again, I have compassion for mental illness suffferers, and I've never had mental illness myself. Plus, you can say the same thing about any experience. If you break your leg, you have more compassion for other people who have broken their leg.

I think it's a bit dangerous to find reasons that mental illnesses can be positive -- as many of you probably know, it's difficult enough to find the energy to effectively treat them. Find reasons to stay as you are and motivation to keep trying to dig yourself out of it will be harder to find -- always easier to sit still than to keep moving.

But I do like the optimism that Inkblot had when she asked the question. I don't mean to criticize her intent at all -- I'm just trying to picture my fiance looking for benefits and it scares the hell out of me to think that there is any reason to go back to the way things were last summer when he was at rock-bottom.