Discussing Mental Illness

There may be something to that, though the tendency to stigmatize mental illness transcends culture to some extent.

I'm mentally ill - I have bipolar disorder, and fairly severe at that. What my experience tells me is that to a great extent, I can tell when it's me speaking or when it's the illness that's speaking (so to speak). And what treatment does, at least for me, is it quells the illness so that it's me that's speaking more of the time. What people seem not to realize is that this demarcation does exist, and that mental illness does not define the person as a whole, which is where a lot of the stigma comes from.

Raven

Yes, this. I have depression -- and probably have had it since childhood, although I wasn't diagnosed until my mid-20s. Like you, I have learned through experience to tell the difference between "this is me" and "this is the depression."

I was amazed to learn last year that I have also learned to tell the difference between "this major depressive episode is based in my mind and needs to see a counselor" and "this major depressive episode is based in my brain and needs new drugs".

It was a very strange sensation, with my mind and my brain operating under different paradigms. In some ways, it was easier to cope until I could get in to the doctor and get new meds, since I could *use* all the coping mechanisms I've learned, but it was very, very odd. It was also the fastest-hitting episode I've ever had -- normally it's a long slide over weeks or months down into the morass, but that one I could pinpoint almost to the minute.

However, they do that with physical handicaps too, creating a major challenge for disabled people; and health care professionals do it with physical injuries and illnesses in general.

Regarding the first half of this statement, your point is well taken. Regarding the second half, frankly, I don't know about the health care that you've received, but my experience is different, at least at present. Not only do I have bipolar disorder, but I'm also diabetic and a cancer survivor, and at the facility at which I am treated, I've never gotten that impression. So it's not really safe to make that generalization.

Raven

Let's say that it has very rarely been to my satisfaction.

I'm sorry to hear that. However, I suspect that your experience is closer to the norm than my current one. I should probably emphasize that I've fired doctors that didn't meet with my standard.

It's not universal, but it is widespread -- most often expressed through things like "that heart attack in room 301 is waiting for you."

I did some (admittedly unscientific) checking on that, and the consensus was that on the one hand, that's correct, but on the other hand, it's something that there's a growing backlash against, which I think is a good thing.

You are very lucky never to have encountered this.

I didn't say "never" - it's my current standard of treatment. And as I indicated above, I've fired providers that didn't come up to my standard.

Raven

When I was receiving job counseling last year, I was intensely annoyed every time said counselor would tell me that I had to be my diagnosis (on the premise that only by accepting that identity could I find a means to work around it), and I couldn't articulate why, but now I know: because I found it dehumanizing. I am not my diagnosis, and a deep understanding of spirit/energy matters actually left me knowing about 90-95% of what was actually going on and how to alleviate it in record time, without hospitalization -- the third time around. :/ (Note: that knowledge was part of a one-time event, but my brain's underlying coping mechanisms had also improved significantly, to the point where I can operate functionally under intense spiritual and cognitive distress. Not that doing so is without its own damages.)

But it is so much easier to call it a "psychotic episode" and refuse to describe it further, than to explain what was really going on, because to a person without a comparable understanding of such matters, I might as well be speaking lunacy.