Posted by Angel Girl on June 16, 2004, at 11:22:42
In reply to Re: Accountability, posted by deirdrehbrt on June 16, 2004, at 8:30:09
> Angel Girl,
> I think that most people who understand mental illness would not hold us responsible for behaviors that result from our illness. For example, someone who is desperatly angry, perhaps threatened with divorce, may try to manipulate their partner by threatening suicide if ther relationship is coming to an end. They would be held accountable for being manipulative. On the other hand, those of us who are ill, would say it for different reasons. We might be genuinely suicidal. Though the same thing was said, we probably wouldn't be held to the same standards of responsibility as the person who does not suffer from mental illness. The 'sane' person made a threat to try to prevent divorce. The depressed person stated a fact.
> There are maybe lots of other examples, but my brain isn't working that well right now. :)
> Dee.Dee
I totally agree with what you have used as an example. I guess what I'm referring to is between *friends*. You see, I have a *real* tendency to react irrationally to things said to me because I interpret things a lot differently than what was really meant by the person who said it to me. The end result is that the othe person gets extremely annoyed with me because I can't get my act together and see things for what they really are. They want me to react in a rational way but without the therapy I need to teach me those skills, I'm not in that place yet. Unfortunately for me, it has happened so frequently that my *friends* are leaving me left and right because they're so sick of putting up with my illness. I wish they could have a little more compassion for me but I guess they aren't willing to donate the time it would take into doing so. That leaves me alone with no friends. :(
AG
poster:Angel Girl
thread:356808
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040611/msgs/357240.html