To friends/family and on social media like facebook?
I maybe bore people at times but I do think the only way to reduce stigma about mental illness is for people to be as open as possible about anxiety and other issues. I regularly post mental health concerns on facebook and twitter.
I am pretty open about it to the friends I have online and close family because they know as I was having an episode at home and that lasted all the way to a family reunion my brother knows but my other family doesn’t really know friends I had one friend and I told him what I was experiencing before I even knew what it was and we still hung out but it didn’t go well as we were smoking weed and we eventually just stopped talking I feel like if you get to know someone first than tell them they wont believe the stigma if you explain what you actually have
“How open are you about your mental illness?”
there are two reasons why i don’t share info about my mi:
I used to hate uncomfortable silence when I was high. As far as telling people I have an MI, I am still not comfortable doing that. I feel there is too much stigma and I don’t want to be talked about like that. I think it’s good some people with SZ are open about it but I don’t feel I can be. If I were to be in a relationship I would have to tell them eventually though because they would find out anyways. When I have had girlfriends before I didn’t tell them, but it never lasted long with them. Although I suspect they knew something was up. One fling I had with a girl who also had SZ saw the pills I was taking because I accidentally left them out, so she found out but i had no insight at the time and told her I was being forced to take them. I’ve never been in a long term relationship so it has never come up other than that.
I didn’t tell him right while we were getting high I was texting him before I even went to go hang out and ttold him I started hearing voices and they get worse when I smoke and hes just like oh youll be fine man
I don’t think I will tell people in the future because they wont really be able to tell somethings wrong with me since I wont be on drugs when coming in contact when them I hate the stigma also I wish there was something for awareness for severe mental illness so people don’t assume stuff you tell someone you have anxiety or depression and they understand but you tell them you have any psychotic disorder and they don’t understand so they believe anything they’ve heard about it which is usually bad
I’ve only ever told a small handful of people. My only two girlfriends, my boss where I used to work (because of the struggles I was having), and a couple (fleeting) online friends. I only tell people after I’ve gleaned a little insight into how they might react and established a good connection of some sort. I believe there are times where it’s appropriate and times where it’s not, because we don’t live in an ideal world and not everyone is going to take it so well.
I’ve been pretty open about it, though I don’t tell everyone. My close friends and family know about it, as do both of my employers. As far as social media, I made a Facebook post about it last November. I just needed to get it off my chest. I mostly have just close friends and family on my fb; I’m not one to friend just anybody. I since have hidden that post from my timeline, so no one would be able to see it now.
I’m open about it. I’m not on social media though thankfully.
i posted a lot on twitter about my mi, long ago, even about a few of my psych ward visits. kind-of regretted doing that. lol. but it did feel good getting it off my chest. sort of like a coming out.
I didn’t mention it much, particularly as when I was in hospital most people I knew mysteriously stopped talking to me. Then I had a therapist encourage me to be open about it resulting it some people saying I was making stuff up for attention so I’ve now gone back to not being open about it
Yeah, that was the only post I ever made about it. I started the post with, “I think it’s time for me to come out of the psychiatric closet,” so it’s funny that you compared it to coming out.
I posted on my Facebook that I have schizophrenia. I think more than 50 people has given me a like.
Had friends that turned on me and used it against me, now I keep it to myself for the most part.
i spoke about illness to some of the most important people in my life and thats it
they deserved an explanation of my behaviour
i wouldnt feel ashamed if everybody else finds out
but i dont see a point in getting around telling other people that im sick
why would i do that?
I’m really open about it, if people don’t like it, I’m okay with them not being in my life or talking to me. I’m pretty apathetic about other people anyway. It’s a big part of my identity so it’s important that any potential friends know about it in case I start acting weirdly to them or if I need some help. there are certain people I don’t tell though/
I completely agree! My entire online persona is dedicated to raising mental illness awareness and normalizing schizophrenia and related disorders. I also have a blog where I post twice a week and have guest blog posts. It’s really helped me by talking about it but some people think I’m obsessed with my illness? Like they don’t get it’s a conscious choice to talk about it online to raise awareness
I’m open about it because my illness dominates all aspects of my life. Plus I had to tell my Xbox friends on instagram because I ran a clan on bungie.net and I eventually got so sick that I was eventually 305’d which I am still serving, although with periodic outside passes and I may be going home for good in a few weeks. My friends deserved an explaination for my absence
I’m starting not to care what others think about me.
Thinking of telling my neighbor that I suffer with a mental illness.
This would explain my stand offish behavior.
I don’t tell people. I’m not the poster child for Sz. I’m me.
