[herethennow]

World mental health day is coming and I found this video made for that day. Just thought I'd share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=vkL_NwNcrJ8

I like how they say "If only they'd listen and stop giving advices." Really apt..

[Cyclowolf]

I love the "If they just stopped labeling me". That was one reason I didn't seek help earlier, The fear of being called so may awful names.

[patches4.0]

Please keep in mind that there are those of us in the field advocating to stop the stigma. We are working hard, get involved if you can and when you see it say something. We need to educate our society and it's going to take time.

[MotownJohnny]

Patches, here is the thing from my perspective. Uh, no way am I voluntarily "coming out" to the wider world. A handful of people who I can trust, only if I feel very safe with them. I don't know about elsewhere, but here in the US, people equate any kind of mental illness with the violent few such as the mass shooters or the type that kidnaps women and holds them as sex slaves. Because the average American only hears the 30 second sound bite on the evening news, and critical thinking isn't really emphasized by our schools. Yes, it only perpetuates not to be open about it, but I am no Rosa Parks, I don't have her courage or dignity under fire. So, I live in fear of people finding out and shunning me.

TRIGGER WARNING

I went to pretty far extremes last year to cover up the fact I was forced into a day hospital program against my will. I was, and am, terrified about what could happen if I'm outed. I did a lot of things to cover it up, got a new cell on a different carrier, new untraceable email with a different internet service provider, lied a whole lot and got a couple of other people to lie for me, got a post office box at a Mailboxes etc store, I didn't even write checks to many service providers, paid cash. I carried all of the paperwork, receipts etc for months in a locked metal box hidden under the seat of my car. Telling my boss I needed time off for a medical leave was extremely traumatic, I puked for 30 minutes afterwards. Something that ostensibly was "for my own good" or "to help me" almost ruined my life. I felt like a prisoner of war.

And I came very close to killing myself over it, I sat on a dock in the pre-dawn darkness of a Sunday morning with a gun and bullets with the intent of shooting myself, but I couldn't go through with it. Such was the quality of the "professional help" I received, treated like a criminal. And, you know what it did to my self esteem? Destroyed it completely. My initial diagnosis was bipolar, I was later correctly diagnosed with PTSD. All of this was a great thing to do to a guy with PTSD, abused by my father, beaten up by life, I make what I think is a good choice to help myself have a better life. I go see some quack Dr I didn't 't check out first, my bad. I walk out an hour later truly suicidal for the first time in my life. And if I had a dollar for very time since in the last year I have been sorry I couldn't find the strength to pull the trigger that morning, I would be about half way to buying a new Mercedes or Cadillac.

This isn't meant as a personal attack on you in any way, I don't know you, and there are good, competent, caring MH professionals out there. The fact that you post here means you must be one of those that care about patients (I hate saying I'm a "mental patient", I much prefer the euphemism 'client'.)

It's probably obvious, but I am bitter, I am lost, it often feels like I was the one punished for being a victim of others. And it is just an ongoing, 24/7 nightmare that never seems to end and never gets better.

[MotownJohnny]

I'm not holding my breath for an educated, enlightened society, either. It's been what, close to 200 years that we've been educating about human rights and civil rights for minorities, women, the handicapped, more recently the GLBT community, and we still aren't totally there by any means.

[ToeJam]

I guess people will always fear what they cannot see and therefore cannot relate to or understand. Having suffered from Depression for nearing on 20 years now I've learned from experience that it's better to keep your mouth shut most of the time... labels will be attached and it can have quite a dramatic effect on your social interactions with people you had considered friends.

I do not and cannot blame others for negative reactions, like has been said above 'an educated, enlightened society' is not something to hold your breath over when it comes to mental health.

I am fortunate that my wife on 13 years is supportive but even we had a number of turbulent years due to not being able to relate and just thinking I'd snap out of it... I guess it was when I told her I'd get help and speak to professionals that she herself was able to get a better grasp of the situation.

Having a mental illness does not make us infantile and I think sometimes it's important to understand the short comings of others reactions and keep your chin up whilst finding solutions through professional help as well as self help. It can be a hard road to tread, especially in the beginning... but at the end of the day we ourselves have to place our feet on that road to find a path of better balance.

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

Labels like OCD, anxiety, and depression are labels I like. Unlike what seems to be most people, I find labels like that to be a good thing, because, for me, they are an answers, and equal the necessary help. One label that does bug me, is "disabled" or "mentally unwell", but they are what they are; I'd rather not over-think it to death; it is helping me get my income and is helping me get supported housing, so I'm not complaining. I think I'm comfortable with this stuff, because it's all I know; I've always been the person who's "not right" - I've had problems since day 1, perhaps even literally. It wasn't so easy at first, and yeah, there are plenty of arsehats out there who don't care to open up their minds to mental health, but there's bumhats in all walks of life, no matter what your status is, someone always has some snide remark for it. I just try to get on with it, I guess; what other choice do I have?

[psychmajortwenty2]

[QUOTE=MotownJohnny;3304159]Patches, here is the thing from my perspective. Uh, no way am I voluntarily "coming out" to the wider world. A handful of people who I can trust, only if I feel very safe with them. I don't know about elsewhere, but here in the US, people equate any kind of mental illness with the violent few such as the mass shooters or the type that kidnaps women and holds them as sex slaves. Because the average American only hears the 30 second sound bite on the evening news, and critical thinking isn't really emphasized by our schools. Yes, it only perpetuates not to be open about it, but I am no Rosa Parks, I don't have her courage or dignity under fire. So, I live in fear of people finding out and shunning me.

TRIGGER WARNING

I went to pretty far extremes last year to cover up the fact I was forced into a day hospital program against my will. I was, and am, terrified about what could happen if I'm outed. I did a lot of things to cover it up, got a new cell on a different carrier, new untraceable email with a different internet service provider, lied a whole lot and got a couple of other people to lie for me, got a post office box at a Mailboxes etc store, I didn't even write checks to many service providers, paid cash. I carried all of the paperwork, receipts etc for months in a locked metal box hidden under the seat of my car. Telling my boss I needed time off for a medical leave was extremely traumatic, I puked for 30 minutes afterwards. Something that ostensibly was "for my own good" or "to help me" almost ruined my life. I felt like a prisoner of war.

And I came very close to killing myself over it, I sat on a dock in the pre-dawn darkness of a Sunday morning with a gun and bullets with the intent of shooting myself, but I couldn't go through with it. Such was the quality of the "professional help" I received, treated like a criminal. And, you know what it did to my self esteem? Destroyed it completely. My initial diagnosis was bipolar, I was later correctly diagnosed with PTSD. All of this was a great thing to do to a guy with PTSD, abused by my father, beaten up by life, I make what I think is a good choice to help myself have a better life. I go see some quack Dr I didn't 't check out first, my bad. I walk out an hour later truly suicidal for the first time in my life. And if I had a dollar for very time since in the last year I have been sorry I couldn't find the strength to pull the trigger that morning, I would be about half way to buying a new Mercedes or Cadillac.

This isn't meant as a personal attack on you in any way, I don't know you, and there are good, competent, caring MH professionals out there. The fact that you post here means you must be one of those that care about patients (I hate saying I'm a "mental patient", I much prefer the euphemism 'client'.)

It's probably obvious, but I am bitter, I am lost, it often feels like I was the one punished for being a victim of others. And it is just an ongoing, 24/7 nightmare that never seems to end and never gets better.[/QUOTE


I get what you mean. I had a similar experience, definitely not to that extreme but pretty bad. I voluntarily checked myself into the hospital because I wanted to kill myself and wanted help... didn't know where else to go. couldn't tell my parents about this stuff... I was already a burden enough on my friends.. I needed help HELP!

The first doctor who triaged me made me more suicidal than I had come in. As if that was possible. his message... after our 20 min interview was not compassion but.. "try harder". I haven't yet, but I still plan on launching a formal complaint against him. With the way I was treated by him... ACTUALLY laughing at me... that he should be on-call emergency psychiatrist.

Thankfully the psychiatrist who saw me the next day was a cool guy. He said I seemed burnt out. Recommended a book to me. Said just take some time for yourself... don't worry about other people. Worry about you. That seemed to work for me. He set me up with meetings with another psychiatrist. I was diagnosed with ADHD. Getting diagnosed with ADHD was all the relief I needed. I had been so unnerved by that psychiatrist saying "try harder" because that's what I felt like I did all the time.. and never succeeded. I always $%$ed up. I thought it was me. It was something morally wrong with me. My will just wasn't strong enough.. and therefore I wasn't good enough.

My journey through mental illness has motivated me even more to become a clinical psychologist one day. I just want to be real with people and offer them comfort. It's not yours or society's fault, things just happen. It's a part of life. yes it sucks, but you can get better, feel happy. You just have to learn to live for yourself and no one else!

Sorry. This probably got way off topic. lol.

[-jimi-]

I'm like an open book. When it comes to my opinions, lifestyle etc. But when it comes to mental illness I do not say much. I always took pride in not being fearful, going against the grain when it was needed. I don't tell people. The only thing I hide more is being transgender.

I can't see much change for the better here. There are still hope for other humanitarian causes. This one... not so much. Here people talk about how violent and criminal we are. Yet, no one, focuses on the fact that one of the biggest risk factors of being a victim of a crime is having mental illness.