Do the Mentally Ill Have to Be Extraordinary to Be Accepted?

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There is a pervasive myth out there that people with bipolar disorder are geniuses. There is a pervasive myth out there that people with schizophrenia are tremendous artists. There is a pervasive myth out there that people with mental illnesses are destined for brilliant, world-class things.

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I think the mentally ill are driven to prove themselves either good or evil.

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They don’t make movies about “ordinary” people, because no one wants to watch that which is considered “normal”.

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if we can do all that just imagine what we could have done if we were ok

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I have SZ - I also have bipolar - I think that that I am rather intelligent, but I am no genius

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Having a mental illness label to some looks like a special pass to be some mystical, magical, “special” ability individual that sets you apart from the dreaded boring ordinary “normal”…the part that those without the label don’t get is, it’s not like a toggle switch that you can turn on and off when you want.
You get the whole bundled package, the good, the bad, and the (can be) very, very ugly.

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i wonder if delusions of grandeur count bc i sometimes feel like i am a God like Genius but at the same time i’m telling myself ‘no your not, your just a normal guy with schizophrenia’

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Hey @daydreamer - i get delusions of grandeur and I thought I was a demi God - half God half man. I know what you mean. I thought I was the smartest being around - I thought I knew it all, especially when manic

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