How do you distinguish...

...between someone with mild MI who is lazy and someone with moderate-severe MI who is very strong willed? To me, it seems that these two people would look very similar on the surface. They both would be functional (the mild patient because the disease hasn't taken too much from him, the more severe patient because he fights his illness at every turn), but probably not very successful. Other people who do not know what is going on likely look down on both of them.

I'm asking because I suspect I fit into one of those camps (I am functional but not successful...), but I'm not sure which. I saw a new pdoc today, and she said that my bp was "very mild", which makes me wonder what the cause of all of my life issues is. Am I simply lazy? Or is my illness actually more serious than she thinks, because I did leave out some details during the interview (I don't feel comfortable discussing my scarier symptoms with relative strangers, even pdocs)? I'm confused.

So far, I've had these thoughts concerning the distinction between the mild and lazy (call him Person A), and the moderate-severe and hard-working (Person B):

-Person A gives up very easily on tasks and expects other people to do things for him. He was always like that. Person B tries and fails, tries and fails, tries and fails again...eventually he may stop trying in one area of his life due to learned helplessness, but you can bet that he is still fighting in some other aspect of his life.

-Person A doesn't try to alter his lifestyle to better control his disorder (he doesn't get enough sleep or eat right), while Person B makes these changes to the extent that he is able (which sometimes is only a very small amount).

If you can help me find other distinctions, that would be much appreciated. I feel like Person B in the first example as I don't give up easily, but I definitely am more like Person A in the second. I really need to work on a consistent sleep schedule, eating healthfully, and exercising, but it's hard. I feel like I'm lazy, but I have no control of it. Like some hybrid of A and B. Once I know where I stand, I'll know what to do to correct my problem. If I'm lazy, I'll try to learn how to work harder, probably through therapy. If I'm sick, I'll focus more on my treatment so that I can overcome the factors that make me look lazy.

Thanks for the brainstorming help. A disclaimer: the moderate-severe, strong willed person does not have a very severe illness. Obviously, in the case of very severe MI, a strong will is not going to make an ounce of a difference in getting a person to be functional.

Thanks again!

I get what you are saying...
I'm a bit similar, I often wonder if I am being lazy, but when you are depressed its not being lazy its all you can do... I don't know how anyone can say someone else's MI is "mild".
Also we all have different personalities, some people are structured and consistent and others are more flexible but less consistent - that doesn't make one better than the other, just different.
I've learnt to live with who I am and just do the best I can to structure my sleep, eating and exercise - I often fail but keep on trying.

eh, I *am* lazy. And I admit it. Doesn't mean I am not trying to fight this personality trait, but sometimes my lack of interest in some things is me being lazy. I always loved going to school and learning, but I hated studying. I hate doing the things that have to be done (paying bills, cleaning the house... my place is always a mess and I often wash the dishes just before I need to use them. Because I *that* lazy). Never do my work till just before the deadline, even if it is interesting. I mean, I think about it, but I have hard time getting started.

I am also irresponsible and b*tchy, but I refuse to blame that on chemicals.

Overall everybody can benefit from being strong-willed. At least you feel good about yourself. (but than again, doing nothing feels good too. There are times I enjoy it... a lot. But than there comes guilt).

I'm lazy...very very very lazy.

I'm not lazy enough. I'm always feeling the "push" to get things done.

This is an interesting question, Secretum... I think BlackPup is right, because, after all, "normals" are like this too. And they might be fighting something else (not MI), or not. And just plain natural personality differences -- the classic Type A (driven, structured), Type B (easy-going, less structured). (Heh, not to confuse the issue, because they use the A and B names too, but in a different way...) Personally, under their system, I'd generally fall into Type B (easy-going, pretty well float along), but it's definitely affected by the BP (far more driven when hypomanic). In big areas of my life, I definitely have learned helplessness. When first coming across this term, I thought, "wow, that sounds so insulting!". Then, looking it up - what it actually means -- it made perfect sense, and I relate to it in a big way. As an example... having launched from high school with what would look to anyone as big potential, and then getting knocked off the rails with BP... followed by constantly being whacked down (w/ BP or otherwise), it gets deeply ingrained after decades, you know? This makes therapy a real challenge. To say the least.

Oh! And just to confuse it further from your examples. I don't -- and have never -- expected people to do things for me, and don't consider my case mild. At all. So... not lazy. But I have essentially given up.

Which I guess is to say that I can't really answer your question in anything approaching a clear way(!)