[Angelwngs25]

They are saying that being SMI is not real. They say they have never heard of it so it's not a real thing. It really bothers me because they are saying basically that I am not as mentally ill as the doctors say.

[gayleggg]

I don't know that I'm familiar with SMI. Is that serious mental illness? And just because they haven't heard about it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. People who don't struggle with mental illness never will be able to understand exactly what we go through. Don't worry about what others think. Listen to you doctor.

[*Laurie*]

Do you have doubts about your serious mental illness? It could be that, if you do have doubts, it feels like those other people are feeding your insecurity. If you do not have doubts about your diagnosis, and about how you know you feel, never mind what those other people think. They don't know how you feel inside of your own mind.

[Frankbtl]

Hi Angelwngs, mental illness can be hard enough without people being so dismissive towards you about it..........just when you want people to understand, to be supportive.
But as you/we know, it is very real.........and it's good that you've got doctors who are able to recognise that.
And it's good you've found PC!!!
You'll find lots of understanding and supportive people on here, and information as well.
So stick with us, hey??!!

Alison

[Hellion]

I am not quite familiar with what SMI stands for, but if its a diagnoses you have and it interferes with your life I would not doubt it's real. What do those people know anyways? I would try not to worry about it too much since those people probably don't know what they are talking about....they could even just be trying to get a rise out of you, hiding behind a screen makes that easier for people but kind of makes them look bad since they probably wouldn't say that kind of crap IRL to someone.

Is it a support site sort of like this, or just a random internet forum...unfortunately random internet forums that aren't specifically for support will have a lot of that sort of garbage and ignorance than ones that are more geared towards people struggling with mental illness to discuss it.

[amandalouise]

Angelwings Im wondering if this could be a language or vocabulary difference....

here in america SMI is not a name of a mental disorder, it is the first letters of the words ...Seriously Mentally Ill..... its short hand abbreviations treatment providers use.

it is a psychological term that just means a persons mental illness is affecting them in severe/very hard ways ie instead of treatment providers writing a long detail of whats going on they can write the letters SMI and the corresponding number for what ever the problem is ....SMI 300.14 means the person is having a serious mental illness issue due to their DID.

other countries SMI may mean a name of a mental disorder that america does not yet recognize ....

and some USA states use the term SMI (seriously mentally ill) when its clear a person has a mental problem but they dont fit into any one diagnostic criteria for a definitive mental disorder, just a general term to tell whether a persons mental problem is serous or minor. example Arizona uses this general term to say someones mental problems are causing them to have functioning problems in their daily life.

my suggestion talk with your treatment providers they can tell you why they coded your mental problems under the general term of SMI rather than an actual mental disorder diagnosis.

[Fuzzybear]

I agree with those who say listen to your doctors and to how you feel, not some random persons on the internet (who are likely trying to get a rise out of you...)

Stick around here on pc, everyone is very supportive

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by gayleggg

I don't know that I'm familiar with SMI. Is that serious mental illness? And just because they haven't heard about it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. People who don't struggle with mental illness never will be able to understand exactly what we go through. Don't worry about what others think. Listen to you doctor.

Yes it actually means Seriously Mentally Ill and the forum I am on where they are saying that is mustard.com. So the people there know exactly what mental illness is like.

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by Frankbtl

Hi Angelwngs, mental illness can be hard enough without people being so dismissive towards you about it..........just when you want people to understand, to be supportive.
But as you/we know, it is very real.........and it's good that you've got doctors who are able to recognise that.
And it's good you've found PC!!!
You'll find lots of understanding and supportive people on here, and information as well.
So stick with us, hey??!!

Alison

I plan on it. Everyone at the other forum seems to be really mean. By the way. The other forum is called imputed.com.

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by Hellion

I am not quite familiar with what SMI stands for, but if its a diagnoses you have and it interferes with your life I would not doubt it's real. What do those people know anyways? I would try not to worry about it too much since those people probably don't know what they are talking about....they could even just be trying to get a rise out of you, hiding behind a screen makes that easier for people but kind of makes them look bad since they probably wouldn't say that kind of crap IRL to someone.

Is it a support site sort of like this, or just a random internet forum...unfortunately random internet forums that aren't specifically for support will have a lot of that sort of garbage and ignorance than ones that are more geared towards people struggling with mental illness to discuss it.

The forums website is myptsd.com

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by amandalouise

Angelwings Im wondering if this could be a language or vocabulary difference....

here in america SMI is not a name of a mental disorder, it is the first letters of the words ...Seriously Mentally Ill..... its short hand abbreviations treatment providers use.

it is a psychological term that just means a persons mental illness is affecting them in severe/very hard ways ie instead of treatment providers writing a long detail of whats going on they can write the letters SMI and the corresponding number for what ever the problem is ....SMI 300.14 means the person is having a serious mental illness issue due to their DID.

other countries SMI may mean a name of a mental disorder that america does not yet recognize ....

and some USA states use the term SMI (seriously mentally ill) when its clear a person has a mental problem but they dont fit into any one diagnostic criteria for a definitive mental disorder, just a general term to tell whether a persons mental problem is serous or minor. example Arizona uses this general term to say someones mental problems are causing them to have functioning problems in their daily life.

my suggestion talk with your treatment providers they can tell you why they coded your mental problems under the general term of SMI rather than an actual mental disorder diagnosis.

Does it say on my profile I live in Arizona. Cuz that's where I live.

i'd ignore them.

they clearly arn't the type of people who you can talk to if they can't see the issues you're having

[eskielover]

I would definitely ask your doctor what they mean by SMI. If it's a medical doctor/GP that has given you that diagnoses, then maybe they aren't able to do the accurate diagnosis that you would get from a psychiatrist or a psychologist. I would hope that they refer you to get the help you actually need so that you can get the appropriate diagnosis rather than the general one of Seriously Mentally Ill.....it's important to know exactly what is going on so that they know better how to treat you.

PC is a wonderful forum with very supportive people who can in many ways guide you to getting the help you really need. We can't diagnose here but we can definitely provide suggestions for how to get help as many of us have gone through that struggle.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Angelwngs25

Does it say on my profile I live in Arizona. Cuz that's where I live.

yes it does say that in your profile. thats why I included that info.