Why does a mental illness get a bad rap?

I hate when people say "You're thinking too hard about it just stop and relax"

Easier said than done

I also go with the fear & ignorance theory - losing control is a basic human fear & people have a tendency to dive straight into a paranoid self preservation mode when they encounter something they can't (or don't wish to) understand. There's also the element of MI still being an easy target that is less likely to attract criticism for the one(s) doing the targeting.

Rather like various groups in history have had to essentially self organize to highlight & protect their situations, I've a feeling that those affected by MI will slowly have to go down a similar road, in order to get a 'voice'. The advocacy of groups like NAMI is a start, but we're a long way from the time where early recognition/preventative health efforts for mental wellness are given the same reception/resources as those for more obviously physical conditions already receive.

Get this one my mom always said to me don't think about it.How are we suppose to do that??I had told her numerous times that is easier said then done

Usually offered in a well meaning way, but it's rather like telling someone not to blink, or swallow - if they weren't thinking about it before, then they are now!

I think when the behaviors are totally abnormal it is difficult for people who even understand what is going on mentally with the person especially when their behavior takes them far out of reality not to say something to try to pull them back to reality even if it is impossible.

I think those are the mental illnesses that get the worst bad raps. Others may not be quite so obvious to people outside close relationships.

Not all mental illnesses are chemical imbalances either. Mine was totally not understood situational that kept going for 13 years until I finally was able to leave. Then it was shocking to me how much better I got in just a few months though it took me years to understand what happened with good therapy & wonderful new friends. I wish I could communicate to those previous mental health providers to teach them what was REALLY going on that created the environment that caused me to react the way I did.

My H does have mental issues that were totally undiagnosed until a few years before I left. Yes, he makes poor choices & is totally financially irresponsible. Would he be that way without his mental issues? Probably.....BUT the mental issues magnify the issues & make them worse & his condition is from birth....something that really caused him problems throughout his life & career but excused away because of there being no knowledge about the condition in those years so it was excused away by every other environmental thing in his life. Now there is knowledge it us obvious where the behaviors come from.

Abnormal behaviors whether they are environmental or mental will always be looked at with wonder as to the cause even if it is just a quirky personality & if it negatively effects those around them & actually causes harm mentally ir physical to those around them, it will create a cindition that causes a bad rap because of the harm that is done.

I hurt my daughter emotionally with my major depression & suicide attempts. It created issues that I had ro resolve when I finally healed.....but it doesn't surprise me that my behavior during those 13 years had a bad rap because it hurt those in my life & anything that hurts others creates a bad wrap situation & whether we like it or not we have to take rezpinsibility for our behaviors whether we are under control or not.

I agree one time she even asked me how long I have had anxieties I told her for about 40 years that is most of my life she told me dont u think you should have gotten rid of them by now?She never understood my mental illness she use to tell everyone I am not right .What the heck is that suppose to mean?SHe passed about two months ago so I have nobody in my family to talk to.

that is so true

I am just wondering how is everyone doing today?I am kind of anxious they say we are going to have thunderstorm with plenty of wind tomorrow they even have issued a tornado warning,A tornado in Ct I hope not thunderstorms just make me nervous especially when there is wind involved.We lose power all of the time we do have a generator it takes forever to go on and I have to wait about 20 minutes for everything to reboot I am always worried that my tv and computer wont work,I have to lay down and pullthe covers over my head or below the neck,maybe this sounds sill but tstorms are so frightening,

Xmascarol.....do you understand that the anxiety you feel about thunderstorms is a NORMAL anxiety. So many people think they shouldn't feel anxiety about anything but normal anxiety is GOOD because it makes us cautious when we NEED TO BE. Anxiety IS NORMAL when danger is present or anticipated so that you will take care to protect yoyrself. If you felt NO anxiety you wouldn't know enoygh to keep yourself safe in dangerous situations....our bodies & minds are made to feel anxiety in situations where danger exists. Jyst like a horse that senses danger....their anxiety gives them their flight response.

My T I worked with in DBT for over 2 years was working wuth me to understand NORMAL anxiety to things verses anxiety I created about something....very enlightening

Since anxieties like this could be considered amplified levels of what would otherwise be a normal anxious response to a potential threat - how did DBT allow/train you to perceive such an anxiety at a more tolerable level? I've never had any DBT, so I'm genuinely curious about your experience.

DBT has a section called Distress Tolerance. It teaches skills that allow for distancing from the anxiety to get one's mind off it for short times. Like for me it was watching a movie on my computer or taking a hot shower or cleaning my house or wirkibg on a craft project. Anything that took my mind iff of building up the anxiety to a higher level by focusibg in it continuosly.

Some people do breathing but that never worked for me. The mind can not focus on 2 things at the same time. Just like a computer it can only time share....a computer gives time slices when multiple processes are being done....our mind works the same way so when we give a time slice to another activity that requires our focus it gives less time to think on what our anxuety could normally build up.

I do but some people tell me I shouldnt be anxious,I cant help it.I was never this way when my late husband was alive we had an enclosed porch and whenever it would storm we would sit out there and watch them,i guess being alone it just scares me more,there are people all around me I wish someone could be with me whenever a storm comes but I also know that is not possible, I know it is because I am alone and I worry what if something happens.When I first moved into these apt 8 years ago we had a major hurricane lost power for like 12 days,I felt so losts.We do have a generator, still whenever I see that awful lightening ,it always seems to make me jump.The only way I can feel safe is if I lay down and close my eyes and pray.I have some friends that fear it even more then I do.When I told my land lady I was scared she just laughed at me,she is a witch anyway.

Does it include strategies to allow you to revisit the source of an anxiety - for long enough to deal with any 'must deal with' requirements associated with it? How do you avoid total avoidance?

I think I've read some your posts where you mentioned having a computer engineering background - it's not often that the concept of CPU time slice comes up in conversation! (It could be argued that the human brain is closer to a multi-core/parallel CPU system, although the conscious experience part of it does seem to be closer to a traditional single CPU setup.)

Sometimes, people's lack of empathy can by really annoying... An anxiety can be so easily amplified by a change/combination of circumstances - do you have any keepsake from the time you shared the experience of lightning under the enclosed porch? Carrying such a keepsake with you (or just concentrating on it) might help dial back the anxiety.

When I first moved to Ky from Ca, the 2nd winter we had an ice storm & I was alone with my 6 dogs & no generator until 2 days into it so I could at least use my 2 burner heating utinsel & charge my phone. I actually had a full blown panic attack in the middle of the night when I couldn't shower because my propane ran out at the same time the electric went out. It was only a week without electric. I has never lived alone in my whole life before moving to Ky at the age of 54. I think the panic attack hit because earlier that day I had been out hiking actoss my icy field, climbing over my neighbors fence & feeding his 20 horses. I was sweating & came into my unheated house. Wrapped myself up but was so chilled & wet I started going into hypothermia until I forced myself to change into dry cloths. That night it hit me how serious the condition really was. There are some survival situations that naturally bring out the psnic & anxiety. Sometimes we just have to acknowledge it, understand it, & accept it. It will pass as the situation passes.

Actually the skills in the distress tolersnce section of DBT are to get you through a distressing situation.....wise mind is the processing of your emotional & logical mind & that lets us process the source of the anxiety & helps us talk ourselves through what happened & how we felt & why the situation caused us to feel that way....in other words processing what happened....integration of past experiences also helps in understanding why we react the way we do & with understanding it can lessen the actual reaction we have in the future.

Unfortunately we had to get rid of everything even the porch it was loaded with termites.I loved that porch so much

I have been having health anxieties for some strange reason for the third time in three weeks my tongue has a funny taste it burns to.I do have gerd and bad sinuses ,I am so afraid it could be a sinus infection ,why because I have such a hard time going to any doctor and half of the time they dont listen to me anyway.I have been rinsing with baking soda it taste awful but hey if it helps.I just dont get why every time I feel sick I have to have major anxieties. I shake and cannot get to sleep.I am so exhausted right now I am afraid of falling.Does anyone else here have major health anxieties ?I cannot even catch a cold and from that I get panic attacks.I tried to lay down think of my favorite place which is the beach.I can see myself walking through the water swimming and fishing>I use to do those things to a very long time ago like 40 years ago.I am 65 .Sometimes visual therapy works and sometimes it doesnt .What causes anxieties t o get worse when we are sick? Anyone know

Guess I am very lucky kiving in the small town where I moved to 11 years ago. My best friends who have become family are the PA I ended up going to because I knew & trust her & her across the street farm neighbor is my retired pharmacist. So any time I end up sick (which has only been 3 times in 11 years) I can ask about what might be wrong before heading to the MD'S office where I would see my PA anyway.....lol we go to her house for house calls unless really sick. It has really helped with my anxiety level about sickness.

Just as an aside.....anxiety lowers one's immune system which can cause more sickness. If you normally are highly anxious anyway, that may be lowering your immune system. I was forever sick when I lived in my previous environment. The change lowered my anxiety which I also noticed a huge difference in my level of illnesses.

I think that it gets a bad rap because no one wants to be like this. No one wants to be devoured by something so much you hardly can tell if they are going to be the same person one day to the next, one week to the next, or one month to the next. Mental illness is a strange fixture and it doesn't really make sense. It scares people who have to witness it and is even scarier for the people who have it.

My mom and dad shun me like we live in some kind of high class society, and my sister constantly makes fun of me which I used to think wasn't bad because I can take a joke. Now I think it's just pathetic: she spends a lot of time and energy into it.

I used to get from my doc that people are too absorbed in their own lives to notice it, but that isn't true at all. Even when I'm with people who also have some sort of mental illness, they judge me for having schizophrenia. It's not like I wanted it. It's not like I prayed for it. Genetics is what happened. Stress, too. I threw a five year pity party for myself which was awesome to behold. That s*** is done.

That's been my experience, also - anxiety, especially extended periods, can leave my system much more prone to whatever maladies may be doing the rounds, but also to flaring up earlier injuries/ailments.

GERD could be triggering both the taste & the sinus issues - and all 3 could be triggered/more likely to be felt when anxiety is present.

The double whammy effect is particularly unhelpful, but I try to deal with the original anxiety as early/much as possible, since it's likely driving the other symptoms.

thank you I am feeling very shaky and anxious right now I am going to see if laying down helps me,I get shaky in the legs to like I cannot walk.

I hope this is going to help you!

I have some trauma because of my very bad fall about 8 years ago I had a very bad fall I hit my head on our entertainment center glass was everywhere ,I was bleeding so hard the back of my head was so bloody and my shirt was covered with blood.I ended up in a nursing home for about a month,the people there were so uncaring and rude.They had to put staples in my head.I never felt a darn thing.It was awful I had to learn how to walk all over again,even when I was in the hospital I had fallen they got this huge machine to try to help me get up and I kept on falling down,they got very mad at me.One time I almost slip and fell in the shower good thing a nurse was there with me.I had a couple of gagging spells and a nurse came in with a pan she threw it at me and said use this.My shrink told me my fall could be very well why I have yelling spells.I am bipolar too.and a mood disorder.It gets to be very frustrating because I dont know from one minute to the rest what my mood will be even though I take meds for it.Use to be on Depakote but it made me feel worse .Now I am on trilpetol.

TBI's (Traumatic Brain Injuries) can cause a lot if problems for the rest of your life. Definitely good when you feel dizzy to lay down & let it pass.

From what I read they can give you chemical taste to.I had to take my klonopin because I was suddenly feeling anxious and again dizzy then I layed down it helped,Thank you for your responds very much appreciated

My doctor told me my bad fall and head injury can cause a lot of problems,I am sure it does.I have bipolar and a mood disorder to sometimes and it causes me to yell and believe me I got into trouble for it too,they just dont get my illness in this awful apt building.They dont even try.She threatened to evict me once wait a couple of times because of my yelling ,she said I need to learn how to control it ,Stupid witch if I knew how to control it I wouldnt be this way.Hey she even threatened to evict me when I was blind ,I couldnt see what did she expect ,I had to cataracs I can see out of one eye now,My land lady is a bully nobody here likes her matter of fact they are afraid of her.I try to keep my distance. May I please have a hug cause I can certainly use one