Posted by Chris O on March 6, 2014, at 4:02:20
In reply to Severe Mental Illness is treated like a joke, posted by poser938 on March 2, 2014, at 13:10:43
Wow, that really makes me angry, those things your dad and other family members are saying. How very Calvinist or stereotypically East Asian (Confucianist) or just a-holish. Because, as everyone knows, when you are struggling with a horrifyingly crippling disease that seems invisible to most people around you (even though this disease is humiliating you to the core and those very people who don't see it are the people you most need support from), of course you're "spoiled." I mean, who in their right mind wouldn't want to be pampered by crippling anxiety and depression? It's a regular spa experience 24/7. And, if you're not "spoiled," well then, surely you're "not trying hard enough." Ah, yes, the old conservative tome found in every culture worldwide. Everything is will and if you don't have the will to overcome every challenge with grace and a stiff upper lip you're a loser. How many times have I heard that before from those around me? And you are getting a raw deal, as are all of us who have to suffer with this disease that is so crippling yet so unnoticed or treated as so blase by most of the people around us (including, I'm sorry to say, the mental health industrial complex, though I do think many of the therapists and psychiatrists I have seen are trying their best). I don't have any answers; only empathy and a similar sense of hopelessness about living out a future in which I am so humiliated about not being able to take care of myself and feeling so untreatably needy. Hang in there, Michael.
Chris
poster:Chris O
thread:1061683
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20140214/msgs/1061916.html