Worst Mental Illness To Have?

What do you think the worst mental illness is to have?

I think schizophrenia is up there, depression can't be fun.

I'd say schizophrenia.

I voted Bipolar, cuz it seems to effect your life the most. I don't have that though.

When i told my first therapist that i had panic disorder, she told me that panic disorder was the worst mental illness you can have, because it literally feels like you are dying. Panic attacks are indescribable, and while i am not saying they are the worst mental illness out there, they were the worst feelings I've ever felt in my life. I literally felt like i had descended into hell and was fighting off demons. I either felt like I was dying, or that I wanted to die to get rid of the agony of the attacks. My panic attacks would happen several times throughout the day, and lasted for 6 months before i ever figured out what it was. That it was just a panic attack, and nothing seriously physically wrong with me, other than a chemical imbalance in my brain. Just putting my 2 cents in. I think any illness where you don't know what it is, ie when i didn't know i was having panic attacks, and thought i was literally dying, is the worst. Once you can name the disease and know what's really going on, its easier to cope with.

I'd say Schizophrenia because it sometimes changes someone's personality. It can be one of the most debilitating things in the world.

I can't vote for all of them? Everyone of them has the potential to be extremely life-altering.

I'm not going to vote - it depends on the person and how they can handle it, plus the severity. I'm BP and have experienced serious depression - to me that was VERY bad. But maybe other's are going through even tougher things.

I don't think I could handle DID for instance...

Yeah schizophrenia wins that the worst dx I dont have it but my brother and sis have it and that so stressful having family being dx with

I'm not going to vote...who's to say which mental illness is the most severe? It varies in severity from person to person, PLUS not all the mental illnesses are there...and there are a lot of them.

Your pretty much all right. Thanks for voting those who did vote!

I wouldn't vote. Plus, what about the people that have multiple mental illnesses?

I appreciate interest in the question RunningEagle. I am just not so sure there could ever be a difinitive answer. I think it is hard to measure one person's suffering against another when it is influenced heavily by the quality of care one is provided to facilitate some level of recovery. It's abit like comparing apples to oranges.

Alzheimers or schizophrenia because they take away the person you loved and their ability to recognize you. People with schizophrenia can get so locked up in their delusions that they can't function in society or make friends.

If I am wrong please correct me.

Eagle, I'm curious as to what you think? Which is worst and why?

Schizophrenia....What a F theft of my sons life/soul!

I don't think you can 'rate' mental illness (MI). It's not helpful to anyone to say that one's problems are worse than anyone else's, and try to work out who has it worse. Everycase has it's problems in each persons lives, and I don't feel comfortable with the idea that they can be told 'well people with.... have it worse' (which I have been told so I guess that's why I'm sensitive to it).

For me each person with a MI has their own specific issues, no two cases are exactly the same for the same reasons with the same background and the same impact on their life. The severity of the impact on their life could be looked at, but again on a scale I don't think it would serve much purpose. What serves a purpose is people being heard, not disregarded because their problems aren't bad enough or someone is worse off and the correct treatment for the dx and person.

Another thing in my mind is that a lot of people have MI that overlaps several different dx, and I don't think any people I've come across have one clear cut dx with no other influencing factors involved even if only one dx has been made.

I'd say Bipolar or Schizophrenia, because they change/effect your life the most. Or so I think.

I personally think that either Depression or Panic/Anxiety attacks are the worst. With depression, you can't make yourself do anything, and most of the time (in my experience) when you're having a panic attack, you feel like you're paralyzed. At least with some of the others you can feel like you can fight back...
But I do think that they are all equally debilitating to each individual person. All situations vary.

Well this was a direct question which has been replied to.Due to the structure of the question...we have opinions here.oh my post fitted in after annas haha...three ppl posting at once lol

I'd say this depends on what you mean by 'worst.' All mental illnesses are difficult to deal with, and the degree to which an individual is affected depends heavily on how severe the illness is in them and how they cope with it. There are a lot of factors there.

Personally, I would only feel comfortable analyzing what I've been through. I'd say that for me, the anxiety has been the most painful, the depression the most life threatening, and dissociation the most consistently disruptive. I've also had times where I believed demons were out to kill me and rip my soul away, and that I was in a battle with these forces. I'm not sure what caused this, but it sounds similar to what people endure in psychosis, and I can certainly verify that this was the most frightening. So for me it's like comparing apples and oranges. Would you rather be terrified, in pain, in fear for your life, or unable to function. (And there was a lot of crossover here too, so what combination would you prefer?) That's not really easy to choose. They're all 'worst' in their own way.

Like others, I'm not going to vote. My depression was the worst thing to have happen to me which made it feel like the worst mental illness to have. But I am sure it is different for everybody.

schizophrenia

Whichever one the person has is the worst.

Yea. Good points "depends on the person, and the care"

I'm not going to vote. Partially because my mental illness isn't on the list, but mostly because there is no "worst" mental illness. They all screw over a persons ability to live their life well, and each different illness has huge pit falls (and many even have a lot of advantages that many people conveniently over-look).

So I don't see how anyone can argue what the worst possible mental illness can be.

The care is really a huge factor ! My nephew is Schizophrenic and has great care, he lives a fairly normal life which is amazing for him !

However someone can have depression and live in bed with no one caring about them at all ! So which is the worst ?