[venusss]

Spin off from Aanga's thread... I don't want to send it to hell, but I got words to say....

I noticed in us people with quirks we tend to get very defensive when it comes to characteristics of our illness/quirk/label whatever (I am always ready to start full on Intifada when somebody talks of "brain disorders" or even broken brains, I admit that). Or to the treatment options. It almost feel we embrace it as our new nationality or religion... We cannot stand to hear that sometime we can get annoying or outright damaging because of our quirks and that we really need to work on ourselves... because nobody is oblidged to put up with it.

I just don't know. I am not my label. I am not my bach essences, herbs and crystals and yoga. (I am zen though). For me it is just something that helps a lot and so yes, I will recommend it, but if does not work for you, well... sorry to hear...

Another thing that I noticed that sometimes it tends to seem like a competition of who suffered the most (sans prizes). People tend to dismiss other's problems... because they are somehow "truer". Is there really need for it? Not that I was not guilty, or did not have the "oh, I feel some not genuine" when my friends were telling me their ****ed up stories and mine felt less of a mess compared to theirs... I mean... why should that matter? If there is something that bothers you, then it is a problem... and you gotta deal with it.

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

If there is something that bothers you, then it is a problem... and you gotta deal with it.

Exactly. And for some that means diet and exercise; for some that means therapy; for some that means medication; for some that means meditation and herbs; and for the majority of us it is some combination of all of the above.

For anyone to say that if we take meds we aren't dealing with our problems the right way is discounting our experience. For anyone to say if you'd just exercise more and eat better all your problems would go away is discounting our work and struggle.

I think all people want is for other people to butt out of their decisions and treatment choices. These are not easy decisions, no matter what options we choose.

[venusss]

But are any experiences less valuable than others? Why do we feel other's experience is put out there to "invalidate" our own?

The thing is... some are stuck. Some keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results... I see how easily can one get stuck... I guess that is why there is so much criticism towards the MH system... because it seems to do little with being stuck. It seems that many people who were helped by it simply lucked out. Good for them, and even better if they gotten good care... but there are others who were not helped.

I lucked out with my friends and family and people in my life path... I mean, growing up with Buddhist-lite mother gave me chance to learn about some amazing techniques to cope with. It is not something you can master in few weeks. So yeah, it makes me roll eyes when people say "I tried yoga and it did not work" (meaning they gave up after few classes)... while advicing to stay patient for years and years to find the right medication combo. It is just bit ironic, isn't it?

[elliemay]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

Another thing that I noticed that sometimes it tends to seem like a competition of who suffered the most (sans prizes). People tend to dismiss other's problems... because they are somehow "truer". Is there really need for it? Not that I was not guilty, or did not have the "oh, I feel some not genuine" when my friends were telling me their ****ed up stories and mine felt less of a mess compared to theirs... I mean... why should that matter? If there is something that bothers you, then it is a problem... and you gotta deal with it.

I think this is also true. It sometimes feels as though, even though we should be, at least here, among people who would understand, that we have to justify to ourselves and others that we are in bad enough shape to warrant taking pills, or even treatment for heaven's sake!

What I experience is real and hurts. My logical mind can say this with certainty, my emotional center still seeks this approval, I so wish it didn't.

Isn't it absolutely true that we should try to

"Be kind to everyone for we are all fighting a hard battle."

[Sanada]

I am not ever worried about my label. I will discus it with any who want to roll with the 'concept' of labels.

But.....I have never met anyone 'without' a label. Even my 73 year old P.G (doctor) hes Polish smuggled out of Poland before the Nazi's got there (he's Jewish), and my T (a 27 year old beautiful go-getter woman , typical of this century) both say they have labels that may lower the 'image' they/we like to project.