Tell me why having a mental illness DOESN'T make one a bad person?

Superpowers? Wow. I will look to see they online?

does having cancer make someone a bad person??

Nobody chooses to have depression any more than someone chooses to have cancer.

I think what you meant to say was "Tell me why having a mental illness makes one a bad person?" (not the other way around).

No, it does not. Just confused at times... very confused Like my podc said "Pikku your brain is in shock" ... "trust me, I am trying to help you. If you had severe back problems you would get help and it would not make it wrong". I try to remember this when I get manic or depressed. It does not make me a bad person. It is me.

Add to this... good thing I did not get married over the weekend in manic state, roflllllllllllllllll

I have a young female pharmacist who shows negative body language when she gives me my meds. She folds her arms like she's hugging herself and doesn't want to get near me or touch my money. Just because I bought some lithium or klonopin.

Exactly. and the larger - more general - point is that there is no monolithic MH population. Just as any other group, this one is very diverse. I think on the whole, all things considered, you are right - more people are commendable, especially given that they are defying the odds in so many ways. But in general, there is no homogeneous "MI" category. Even within the same illness, people have different presentations, different challenges, and different experiences. I have physiological anxiety and no social anxiety and I attend group therapy for anxiety, where most folks are socially anxious. I learned a whole lot about people with social anxiety from this group and have come to appreciate them A LOT!!!, but I also see how different they and I are. And the broad diagnosis is the same - anxiety. If people differ so much within one diagnosis, they must differ much more so within the whole spectrum of MI. The variation is simply enormous.

I think the opposite is true. The fact that I have to live with these symptoms everyday makes me a strong person.

I think that the comparison is an apt one. Diabetes can be difficult to control for some, and easy for others. Some need insulin, some can take metformin, some dont or can't take these treatments for various reasons. Controlling it is not a guarantee of health or wellness, just as treating depression does not mean it goes or stays away.

They both have a chemical and psychosocial epigenesis, and both have contributing genetic factors.

I get why it would grate, because I know that I would not have problems saying to co-workers that I am having a diabetic emergency, but would not say that I was hospitalized for suicidality. But I think that it's actually a pretty good nuanced comparison and guide to understanding.

And also... diabetes can shorten your life span, as can mental illness.

I think the problem I have with the diabetes example is that diabetes doesn't affect anyone else. Other people may not even know you have it. Some MI is like that, some isn't. Some MI is more like having a disfiguring facial injury that makes other people avoid you.

MI doesn't make anyone a bad person. I sometimes wonder if it is helpful or harmful to have all these labels and suppose it's a bit of both. I suspect non MI individuals are actually in the minority.

When anyone meets me, they notice right away that I'm different. And even if I explain my diagnosis to them, it's still considered to be a bad thing. I always hear people using mental illness as an insult word, like they call eachother schizophrenic or autistic or something.

I can't believe that the people who judge have kids, go to work, and can actually sleep at night. It's really shameful that I'm considered less of a person and I never hurt anyone, yet these people are normal although they make the world terrible.

Maybe if people stopped judging everyone there would be nothing to judge? Everyone would just be equal and there would be nothing to get upset about. Critiscism is where bad things start...I mean they know I didn't CHOOSE to be like this, so why am I a bad person for it? Where is the logic?