[FeelingHopeful]

I wish more people were understanding and compassionate towards mental illness. I dont suffer from one but know family who do. Its hard enough for them without people telling them its in their head.Grr!! Im so frustrated with people who dont try and understand.

[paddym22]

Thats the reality of the stigma that a lot of us have to deal with on a daily basis unfortunately.

[FeelingHopeful]

Its not fair because its not something you can control. Its not your fault. Its a stupid stigma. If you care about someone you love all parts of them not just the easy pts. I realize this is something that is hard and takes understanding and patience. You have to be strong . But when you love someone be it family or friend why wouldnt you want to understand and offer support? I dont get it.

[RRU96]

You are right, it isnt fair. The problem is that people only think of a disability as something that is physical in nature. Unusual walking, wheelchair, deformation of a limb. Things that you can see.

With certain issues, such as bipolar, people just think your 'moody'...you get upset at certain things. They think, I get pissed off sometimes, and I get happy about certain things.... I'm not bipolar so what makes you so different. They put themselves into our shoes without ever having a chance to walk a mile. It's rough, but it's the way we are taught.

Growing up, we are taught to find the thing that was different.

Red Circle, Red Circle, Red Circle, Blue Triangle.

The different one is the one we can SEE...but this is not always the case as we know.

[FeelingHopeful]

But its so upsetting . What about people who get cancer? Its not their fault. either and people are so compassionate as they should be. I know cancer and bipolar are both different but the same thing is your both battling even ifs its diff ways. Its still a fight. I feel so different. when i hear people dismiss mental illness or make jokes on it i cry. I get angry they dont educate themselves.

[Moreta]

I wish people had more understanding too.

Most of the people I work with are understanding, mainly because I have educated them. Some on the other hand, are not.

I think it's funny you bring this topic up because last Tuesday on The Daily Show, the guest was Rosalynn Carter and she was promoting her new book "Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis." The interview was good, and she talked about how much of a stigma metal health carries within our society to this day. I haven't read the book yet, but I intend to do so.

IMO, mental health carries this stigma because it has to deal with the brain. Until people understand the underlying causes for mental illness and science spends more time on studying the brain and fully understand it, there will always be a stigma. This is because you can not see visually the effects of a mental illness, nor are there any lab tests that can definitely say that you have a mental illness.

[Skully]

Since I work in the field and am a patient, it is very difficult to gain respect for mental illness. My coworkers do not know I am bipolar and they often make comments about our patients with mental illness. This makes me sad. They are supposed to be there to help our patients but instead they judge them. It is very sad.

[The Crazy Rambler]

Originally Posted by FeelingSad

I wish more people were understanding and compassionate towards mental illness. I dont suffer from one but know family who do. Its hard enough for them without people telling them its in their head.Grr!! Im so frustrated with people who dont try and understand.

Thank you for understanding this!
Yes, we are being stigmatized...
Educating people around us as much we can is an important part in raising awareness of what a mental illness is/can be and what it does/can do with a person. I think people find it scary, as they simply don't know what it means and are unsure as to how to treat that person now they know something is amiss (i their eyes, I like to say: different).

I had people in my direct circle say: right, how come you now suddenly are diagnosed?!?! No questons directed at me, or even trying to read about it, which is so esy nowadays with the internet. You don't even need to read much to get some bsic understanding. I was severely disappointed. But then I had some close friends say: oh, well, that's just the way you are and that's okay. Nothing really changed for them, other that that it now has a name. I have educated them adn we can talk about it and they are the ones that notice when things are getting out of hand one way or another. That is awesome, but it's only a few people. I have trouble building a support network...

As far as bipolar is concerned: it can have a genetic component, where someone has a predisposition to develp it. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Something you can compare it to is diabetis where there is an imbalance too.
It is true that there are no tests for mental illnesses, but if you look more into the field of neuro science, there is brain research that shows that the brain of someone with bipolar looks different that the brain of a so called normal person. They are working on new ways to treat depression in the brain instead of the electro convulsion therapy, where the whole brain is treated. there are ways to pin point where the part is where the depression is situated and treat specifically that part. Unfortunately, for us bipolars, our brains are a tad more complicated. So it will take time before something like that is developed for us. But the good news is still that researchers are working on it.
But as with all things: if someone doesn't want to know, it is useless to try and share any info with them. And in my opinion: they are not worth the efford, nor my friendship!

[confusions_friend]

I too wish there wasn't this stigma. I too wish that people were more understanding, but most of the time I just wish people weren't ....so mean...

[bp*april]

People in my family make fun of my symptoms--it really hurts and I have not been able to change their perception of my illness. They are not interested in reading about it.