Have you ever seen someone (this happens a lot to me on facebook. Particularly regarding depression) and the person who is making the post obviously has no freaking idea what they are talking about?
My Mom is my facebook friend and she doesn’t think that I should tell anyone about my mental illness. I have no problems with it. I am very highly functioning and if they are going to discriminate they are obviously morons. I don’t bring it up with my teachers or at work (except once when I was telling my political science teacher why I couldn’t continue that major. I was crying my eyes out and I wanted him to know that it wasn’t anything he had said or done I was crying that hard.)
But someone says something like “and you are fighting your depression like you fight the current in a river and you are screaming for someone to help you and no one does. You are clinging to every branch or rock you can trying to fight it.” or some bull like that. I realize that everyone’s experience is different but when I asked the girl if that was her own words she got all defensive and crud.
Acceptance, awareness, ect is all very important, but unless you have experienced it you shouldn’t talk about it. (Not talking about people like @kidsister who have stood by someone who was going through it and have been there for someone).
That’s what I have found about my depression. You just feel helpless. I was in a face to face mental illness support group one too and absolutely no one talked about “fighting the current” or any of that crud. Most of what came up was how hopeless everyone felt. Like there was nothing they could do. No answers. No way out. A lot of them weren’t helped very much by the meds and we have very horrible doctors where I live (I’m in a rural community).
I just wanted to tell her off. I think she probably meant well, but that one was very dangerous. It promoted the idea that we are all capable of fighting like that. I have been suicidally depressed for over ten years straight as a child. I’m not saying that some people can’t fight suicidal depression that long (in a I’m going to distract myself, and use other methods taught in therapy) when you have never had any therapeutic help. But I am not one of them.
This other girl came out with this stupid “we are over medicating our children. We should just talk to them.” I said something to the effect of there are lots of children who need their meds. She got all witchy. It was a picture with that quote. She didn’t say anything about herself. I just broke down and insinuated that I should have been medicated as a kid and what was the appropriate thing for her (she said that she had been medicated when someone should have just listened to her) isn’t right for everyone. I got a ‘whatever’ in return and she deleted the topic. Which is a good thing because I really said too much.
I know I don’t suffer nearly as much as pretty much everyone here, but I have definitely had enough in my past. I applaud putting up posts against discrimination but when you just make up what mental illness feels like and what it can do to you, you are just part of the problem. I have had only two mild episodes of paranoia but I have had several breaks with reality. But I don’t talk about hearing angry, mean, nasty voices every day that never stop. I don’t know about that suffering. I can tell people about some of the things I have heard on here (not mentioning anyone of course, just general I know some people who have this and for lots of them no meds or any other treatment will make them stop.)
I view it kinda like those people who put up anti vaccination posts. There have been outbreaks of whooping cough and other terrible preventable diseases. I don’t know much about whooping cough but I do know a little about polio (another thing that they vaccinate against).
My Aunt had it and whenever she walks and she is near a counter or table she gently grabs hold of it. She walks awkwardly even though when she is standing still she looks fine. One scientist lied and said that the vaccines could cause autism and they lie has just been perpetuated.
Now even children who have been vaccinated (it doesn’t work for everyone. Some kids can still get it even though they have been vaccinated which is why it is so important for everyone to be vaccinated so that they don’t come in contact with these things.) and some children can’t be vaccinated because they have an autoimmune disease.
I don’t think there is such a thing as a harmless lie.
