Can people tell im mentally ill?

I always wonder if people can right off the bat see theres something wrong with me. I know everyone has a sort of “vibe” they emit (which i have lost the ability to see). But i wonder if i emit the “something is mentally wrong with me vibe”

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I notice signs of lack of self-care in people, and can also sense signs of anxiety. This doesn’t tell me what is going on with someone, only that something is probably going on.

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Of course some people are oblivious; others are very sensitive to nuance.

J.

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I feel the same way. I have this weird thing where I have to wear jackets when I am outside. I live in CA and wear trench coats in 102 weather. Once someone mentioned that I was ill or something because I did that in a serious way.

I feel like people can sense something is off sometimes but not very often. I think that some mentally ill people can see it in others because we have experienced it first hand in cases.

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I think I look and act mentally ill even though I am stable, when I sit I bounce my leg uncontrollably, sometimes both legs, just a little nervous bounce. Makes me look out of it. doesn’t embarrass me though. so I’m just this over weight dude with a receding hairline and a gray goutee. I also wear dark frame glasses.

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Teenagers bounce their legs. I always thought it was because of too much energy. I used to do that. Still do occasionally when I’m stuck somewhere + am bored, till I catch myself. And conciously stop. I’m trying to fit in here at the Home.

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some people notice yes, but the ones that do are too conscious of how things are to say anything usually.

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I’ve worked hard to pass for normal.

As i go through town, I frequently see a schizophrenic or two. I have some understanding and compassion for them.

I was Online at a 12 Step Group and privately said to a fellow there that I noticed he had a thought disorder. He stopped coming to meetings. Sorry!

J.

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I live with about 40 other sz’s in an assisted living center. I sometimes wonder when we go to town if people can tell if some or all of us are mentally ill. With some of us it is unmistakable, but others I wonder if people can tell. Maybe a few of us they can’t tell about. We have a reputation in town, though. Some of us manage to mess up creatively.

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I blend well when i have the ability to leave my house…im actualy charismatic a normie at a party once said if i was the leader of a cult he would join…but i am just playing a character i created to blend…i know other people like me but they still think somethings wrong with me…ive been told to my face your ■■■■■■■ weird but you make it cool…sadly i cant leave my house much anymore…sorry rant end…

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It’s true with me, too.

While I convey a message positively and nicely, the content of my message often is that of a mentally ills (autistic or deluded).

So I have been told quite a number of time by few people that, if translated to English, “You are not crazy, but you have problem.”

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That’s (though not exactly) what I have been told too. There is always something wrong in us.

I remember telling a social worker once that I felt people could tell I was mentally ill, which made me worse and I felt this was a vicious circle.

Now, if I go into town I’m quite confident that people can’t tell that I’m mentally ill.

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I think that most people can tell that there is something off with me.

I am just too stand offish - and my social skills are not the greatest with strangers.

Plus if Im anxious or feeling stressed or depressed - forget it, i am sure that everyone can tell.

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I have one friend that said I was pretty weird, but all our freinds our weird goofballs so it didn’t really stand out. I also just told one of my good friends I had sz and he said he never noticed at all and thought of me as a very balanced individual… Sooo i guess it depends on who your around? I don’t know. The seconds friend caught me by surprise.

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This is a great topic. How I act and how I look has everything to do with how I feel inside. If I act according to my delusions then I’m promoting my delusional state. If I’m prompted to make decisions by my delusions, then I’m furthering my illness. When I groom and dress according to the promptings of my delusional state, then I’m promoting my delusional state.

To some degree, it is quite important to “pass for normal”, that is, for the sake of societal acceptance and approval. To avoid stigma. Yet, pleasing society should be a secondary concern.

The main concern: I don’t want to have this illness, it’s not good for me. It’s unhealthy to say the least. So I need to do everything to get away from the mindset and the behaviors that are part of it.

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This is something I regularly wonder. That I am giving of bodily/facial and, if I speak to someone, vocal signs that I am odd/mentally not right.
I know I have had comments on the way I walk and sometimes can notice myself walking as though I am drunk.
I don’t think I would have been called the “missing link” at 9/10 and had monkey chants directed at me at 14 if other boys hadn’t thought I was a bit odd. So I guess if I am odd it goes back decades.

Some might say there’s an ideas of reference thing going on.

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I don’t go out anymore for the same reason… I am almost sure that others can tell I am sick… and yes, I take my medicines :slight_smile:

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For the most part I think I pass really well - except for that awkward moment when someone I know finds me pacing like crazy or saying to myself “don’t kill yourself” (which happens about 10 times a day for some reason, even when I don’t intend to).

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Me too dude. Exactly.