Mental Illness....

[Roxie Grey]

Do you believe in it? I know that I do, and that it can often be more debilatating than many physical problems.

I know that some people don't believe that such a thing as mental illness exists, and I was wondering, if you donot believe in it, what do you think it is, and why? I am a VERY open-minded person, and I know that it is extremely hard for those who have not ever had one to understand.

I am asking this question because I have a mental illness, and the other day I came across an article that a man wrote on the subject, and that he believes that there is no such thing, and that those who say they have one are faking it or insane.

I refuse to believe that all who don't believe in mental illness are that rude and narrow minded, and would like to say that if you don't then I donot discriminate.

If you do believe in them, then could you state why you do, and to what extent? And if you are reading this and have one, then I wish you the best of luck and the most amazing life of all time. <3

[Savanna Shay]

I believe whole-heartedly that mental illnesses do exist, for several reasons:

My mother has been going through depressions for the past several years, as well as having an anxiety disorder. She had panic attacks periodically before she started taking a new medication.

My (now ex) boyfriend, two of my uncles, and my grandmother are all bipolar.

My neighbors have two little boys, both of whom are autistic.

 

For me, because I interact with people who have various "mental illnesses" on a daily basis, it's very clear to me that they are real.

 

On a semi-related note, I highly reccomend reading Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet to anyone who is interested in, or doesn't believe in mental illness. It's Tammet's autobiography; he has Asperger's syndrome.

[Fern]

I definitely agree destructive disorders like schizophrenia are real and depression is very real to anyone in the state, but there are two I question. The first is multiple personality disorder, where they claim there's more than one person in a body. Why? Because there are therapists with no patients with the disorder, and some where nearly every patient they have has the disorder(something's wrong there >.>). The other is when people study psychology, recognize the symptoms in themselves, and act accordingly by having the rest symptoms of the disorder(I think I've actually done that with having ADHD). My warning to people studying psychology; don't worry, you're okay!