the romanticism of mental illness

the mental hospital out patients are full ,with would be depressives, I my young days there would be maybe 2 0r three , that is why they see a shrink nurse first to see if they are genuine or teenage emotions , same with grown ups to. In England if you are sent for a mental acessment it takes up to 3 years before your even seen by a shrink nurse, unless you try to kill yourself then you may get to see a A-E doc for 20minuts before the send you home.

Mine was STDs long before AIDs was heard of , I had more blood test than a porn star , I was on first name terms with the std staff , PROZAC 20MG stopped that in 6 months use.

Yes Hellion, PTSD is definitely discussed. Yes, I have noticed how the "extremes" are presented to make it more theatrical. I know it is not
inaccurate that someone with PTSD would be struggling so much they end their life, that is actually a big problem, especially with veterans.

The thing with PTSD is some people can have it worse then others too. Some people can present with PTS and if they are treated in a timely manner can actually recover and manage their lives again. Others, if not treated soon enough can go on to developing chronic PTSD, which is much harder to manage. Not all veterans develop PTSD that is severe, some with treatment learn to manage it much better and can even go into remission. Some people do not even really have PTSD, but instead have an anxiety disorder where some of the symptoms are similar to PTSD, but not enough to actually have the PTSD disorder. Or someone can have just a disorder of some kind and at the same time have an anxiety disorder too which isn't really PTSD either.

Some people can have a difficult history, experience anxiety from that history, yet not have PTSD, however are more susceptible of developing PTSD if they experience a big traumatic event.

If I look back on my own history, I see many different challenges, I can see how that presented anxiety in me, even struggled with hyperventilating for a while, but I "never" experienced what I struggle with now having full blown PTSD that often incapacitates me. That being said, I can see how someone with symptoms like I had could be diagnosed with PTSD because of the history I had and yet not really have PTSD or think they have it and get so they feel much better and truly not really understand others who really do have PTSD and don't "just" get better. Being challenged with depression, lack of motivation and anxiety doesn't always mean PTSD. Being exposed to experiencing something bad can present a desire to avoid that kind of scenario and even can produce anxiety just thinking about it, but that doesn't mean someone has PTSD.

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Sorry if my text is off kilter, I can't seem to figure out how to fix it, it's such a pain.

Of course just like with any other mental conditions there are different severity levels. It is certainly beneficial if someone gets help after a traumatic experience then they might not develop PTSD or if they do they will be able to treat it sooner and maybe essentially recover.

Unfortunately in my situation I didn't really get any support or help, just tried to 'move on' on my own due to the lack of support or help and one can only push something like that to the back of their mind so long...before it starts having significant effects. Also I find it quite intimidating that most therapy for it I hear of involves essentially relieving all the crap again which I have reason for not wanting to do especially at this point.

I think I've seen someone claim to have PTSD(undiagnosed) from a relationship ending somewhere a while back don't even remember how long ago or where...now while I don't doubt it was very painful...I kind of doubt it caused PTSD since a break up is not a threatening situation where you think you or others are going to die or be severely injured. As for movies and t.v well I am picky about movies and don't hardly watch t.v so if there are a lot of inaccurate portrayls of ptsd specifically I suppose I simply haven't had the opportunity to see it. I do however find it irritating that in some movies the 'evil' character is always evil because of some terrible childhood they had or this or that when many people who come out of these situations are just end up more vulnerable and anxious about the world they don't become violent psychopaths...so I certainly don't like the connotation of being abused/exposed to trauma makes people violent murderers(not to say mental illness never ever plays any kind of role in violence but they do get carried away about that stuff in movies, statistically speaking mental ill people are more likely to be victims of violent crimes rather than the perpetrators.
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i actually had a friend who would role play a mental illness out like she was an actor in a movie, the strange thing although is that she is mentally ill, but thought it was so cool to be mentally ill.

I can relate to that. I have suffered depression for more than 30 years. It took 5 years and a close call with an o/d to get a referral to a psychiatrist. I spent 8 weeks as an inpatient and another 4 years as an outpatient. Since then my treatment has been managed by GP, unfortunately, now I've hit a really treatment resistant episode which has co-incided with running out of options for ADs. I'm on a waiting list for an assessment to see if I need a referral to a shrink. What that means is I have to wait for an appointment to see a mental health worker (this could be support worker, social worker, therapist, junior nurse or probably even the cleaner!) who will then decide whether I need to see a shrink or a shrink-nurse). The waiting list for getting on the waiting list is 6-8 weeks, the waiting list for the first appointment is another 6-8 weeks, and another 6-8 weeks to get to the shrink stage. I know I need meds, my GP knows I need meds, the only person who can prescribe meds is a shrink, so why can't I just see a shrink? No tv drama ever portrays MH in that perspective and because I'm a fairly respectable, boring 49 year old, who holds down a job, who doesn't act out and has an otherwise unremarkable illness no documentary makers would be interested either. So not only does the media make MH trendy, it makes it harder for the people who most need treatment to get treatment.

I understand the anger you have toward the sensationalism of MI. It makes the public's opinion of "us" more polarized and unrealistic. Though I must say, even though we may not agree with how the subjects are being treated, at least there is talk. There has been so much stigmatization of MI and just like most everything and there probably always will be; the importance of dialogue outweighs the aggravation to me. I'll still be annoyed but I'll be even happier that mental illness is getting swept under the rug less and less.

you made the classic mistake, you let them sign you off from the hospital. I still go once a year that way I am still a patient and can see a shrink in a day. They asked years ago if I wanted to be signed off from the hospital I said no, has you may need them quick , plus it was what the wife wanted .so once a year and I keep my foot in the door.

It is inevitably going to happen to anything which involves suffering and pain; pop culture is going to make it look pretty on the screen and naive younguns with no mental problems and great lives are going to use it in their teenage rebellion to get attention because they're bored and need validation. It's a pain in the *** when you know you've actually suffered and then have to watch them play around with it like it's the next fad. It destroys the integrity of real suffering. There's nothing we can do to stop it from happening except to just make them realize that they are acting like idiots. Usually, when the fakers meet a real-life one, they shut their poser mouths because they know that if they don't then they look like politically incorrect morons in front of their friends. If they don't realize it then they just continue to look like politically incorrect morons. That's something I take comfort in knowing.

When I was new to getting mental illness treated I was really naive. All I knew was things like TV (no Internet back then) so I expected to get this super smart therapist that had a genuine interest in me and would say the right things.

I had to wait months to even be assessed. Then the psychologist that assessed me was really weird, very accusatory like I had come there to make life hard for her. She showed no emotion at all, actually she looked very dead. She asked things that I must have answered wrong, because she got kind of hostile. Then she told me I would be placed on a waiting list to a therapist and I might get one in a year.

It was quite shocking to me that I didn't matter more. In my mind I had imagined reaching out would make them reach out to me back and welcome me. I wonder if there are any movies not portraying mental care either like heaven or hell, but more like being sent to the principals office...

"Girl interrupted" She was sent off to the hospital when her parents couldn't figure out her moping. I think she was diagnosed with bipolar.

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Borderline actually.

You do bring up a good point...I suppose less stigma is good, even if a few teenagers might think its trendy to act mentally ill or whatever.

NEVER think your worries are over when you get a hospital appointment , in fact just walking in the reception can make you feel worse in a big hospital like mine. You may walk out after a visit to the shrink with less hope than you went in. Lots of factors , they give you the wrong meds, they don't give you any, there having an off day, there running late, they say come back in 3 months when you thought 2 weeks ect ect . But there is always a small chance they get it right NOW HAVING TO BE AN IN PATIENT IS A HOLE DIFFERENT BALL GAME. One thing about inpatient is good or bad ,you never forget it.

SHOCKER!!

I mostly agree! The only thing is a manic or hypo manic state is not always good for creativity either. You can sucked in an unhealthy way.

The problem with ssri's is probably worse though. At least to me and a lot of people. It feels like you have something but it's buried in a ball of plastic wrap and there are too many layers. It wasn't that his songs were "happier" it's more that they were crap. I remember them... I think music trends were shifting towards grunge too. People had their fill of breakfast club and yaz too. At least here.

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2...ts-be-creative

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I'm a total movie buff.. Except for girlfriend movies. Boring. I can't think of a movie that has made light of PTSD. Gosh... I wish I could remember the name of it because it was good. About a woman dealing with the death of her baby and trauma around it. It totally got into her head. I won't say more than that in case I figure out the name. I don't know if that would have been full blown PTSD or trauma. The characters in Walking Dead should have full blown PTSD but so far they have only shown one that I can think of and they did treat it seriously. I know... Horror fiction but that doesn't mean they don't address real life issues. I just don't understand why it hasn't rained since season one!

Then there is a movie called "Lars and the Real Doll". It is not about PTSD. He is delusional. The entire town eventually comes to accept his delusion and allow him to work out what he is going through. They support him. Ultimately he does get through it. It is a very different take on mental illness. I might be romanticized but I don't think it is in a way that is disrespectful. The only thing unrealistic is the fact that the town learned to accept him which would be uncommon today. I have read it used to be more common for towns to accept schizophrenia and allow them to be... Helping them where needed. This would be before meds became the magic bullet.


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That kinda makes me think of "I am cyborg, but that's okay" a Korean movie about girl who thinks she is cyborg. She refuses to eat and only licks batteries. Her bf from the hospital tells her, he's gonna install some rice processor in her, to make it possible for her to eat like humans to. In the end she is told by a nurse it's "okay" that is thinks she is cyborg.

One of the few MH movies besides Girl, interrupted I actually enjoyed.

They were crap , specially to there fan base ,but his wife loved the change in him to a happier more family friendly fat man. It seems all brit pop and rock stars
who were into drugs finish up on shrink meds, you can always tell them by the weight change , Shaun Ryder ,of happy Mondays a prime case

I am more into BARBARELLA my fav b movie VENUS I no the bit in this film you like , ps , pretty pretty

family friendly is a disclaimer for me

That's a great point, and I agree with you. Though my comment was just from personal observation and natural inclination, I made a sweeping generalization that does not apply to all cases. Sorry to hear about your experience.

So what if some people can be productive? That doesn't speak for everyone. Besides, he was still producing music, so the productivity didn't change. Your argument carries little weight.

Also, correlation is NOT causation. Being on Prozac can not be attributed to a stylistic change in artwork.

How does one gauge "best" anyway? There is no scientific way to gauge uncountable nouns.

I'm an artist. If someone said to me that my bi polar disorder was the reason for my drive and creativity, I would be insulted.

You don't find the Prozac numbs you? Or maybe it isn't enough that it doesn't bother you? I don't think sumner took it for more than 6 months or so. It was an experiment. When I read the article below I didn't get that it was so much a stylistic change. Let's face it, happy songs aren't all that interesting most of the time. The writer used the word "crap". I think everyone has been there at one time or another.

I know ADs and possibly Lamictal numb me from my art work. I still do it but it often feel like I can't reach my ideas. Like a lot. I work very subconsciously and intuitively so not having access is horrible. It isn't so much that my depression enables creativity as the meds numb me out TOO much. If anything I think my disorder makes me more sensitive which then lets me express myself more authentically. That's not the same thing as saying my depression is responsible for my creativity. When I eat right my ability to create also increases but not enough to counter the effects of the meds .

There are a lot of artists who feel the same. You could have reached a balance that works or whatever.

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2...ts-be-creative

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That movie is fantastic ! It looked interesting a few years back on Netflix and I've watched it a few more times since !

Everyone is different. Something can numb a person and not another. Also, some people can be more creative in a certain frame of mind and others can not.

What I'm saying is that you can't say that a stylistic change for one band implies that creativity will be curbed by taking medication. Just because one thing happened when another did does not imply that it was the cause.