Posted by deirdrehbrt on April 15, 2004, at 19:07:53
Thinking about the 'becomming your diagnosis' thread, I was thinking about why so many of my friends are ill.
It seems that many, if not most of my friends are ill too. I think though that I know why. When I was working in engineering, my friends were engineers too. We had something in common that occupied much of our lives. Discussing engineering was normal, we could understand each other's problems.
Now, I'm saddled with a mental illness. It isn't going to go away on it's own. It occupies my thoughts easily as much as did my former career. I can't expect though, to be able to talk about this, or find support from anyone who hasn't experienced it. They just can't understand. It was the same with engineering. If someone asked me about my job, I had to try and figure out just what they might be able to understand.
Just as most people who haven't worked in my former industry are unable to understand the intricacies of testing electronic components, few people who haven't lived with a mental illness can understand just how deeply these illnesses can invade our lives. We need each other to find that support and acceptance. The idea that many people can be scared of us just because they don't understand is quite true.
Well, that's my take on it. What do you guys think?Dee.
poster:deirdrehbrt
thread:336718
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040409/msgs/336718.html