rdgrad15, I think you're definitely right about many people. Stigma, self-denial, and other factors definitely shape attitudes, and though it is certainly often a learned behavior, general education and intelligence doesn't always make a difference.

I think a lot of people also know that they may be mentally ill, but flat out want to fight it. What I call "tight fisting it" through life. I did plenty of that in the past, and on occasion find myself still. Several people (and I did in the past) will quit meds, not necessarily denying the mental illness but again thinking they can manage without. Ditto goes when it comes to therapy. Surely bad medication side effects can inspire this, but also other factors. Feeling "weak" is against many people's grains.

Another take on this is being so frustrated with being ill that we convince ourselves we are better than we are. I've been guilty of that, too. I've done mood charts where I kept indicating "baseline, baseline, baseline" when later I redid them to show either mildly/moderately depressed or even hypomanic or manic. An unexpected hospitalization (or near one) or ramification to behavior can be enlightening. I sometimes suspect the exact opposite of some others.