Mental Disorders

This is a pretty serious topic, and I think it should be treated as such so as not to offend anyone. There are many types of mental diseases, disorders, abnormalities, etc. in the world. It makes life hard for not only the victim, but for the people around them. There are many people in the world who think that mental disorders don't exist. They believe that people who take medicine for depression, schizophrenia, autism, parasomnia, etc., are doing so for the attention. They think that these victims are mentally weak, but not unsound. As people who have never experienced a mental disorder, it's perfectly natural to think this way. I'm not asking any of you to fess up to having a disorder, (though you're free to, obviously) but I would like to ask for your stance on the issue. What is your take on mental disorders? How do you treat others with a mental disorder? Do you agree with society's methods for dealing with mental disorders? Why or why not?

Most mental disorders I believe, unless passed on through genetics, is not a disorder but someone who doesn't try to control themselves, I believe depression is simply the refusal to be cheered up, of course certain strong emotions can cause your mental stability to crack in half but it's not very common as scientific disorders (those leaving out emotion). I personally would be called a bipolar child with ADD and high functioning autism, and then they'd slap depression on there too just to do it. That's if i went to a doctor over some things that are off in my head. But that's for the money most of the time....-sigh- I do believe that most people with "disorders" are completely sound, and not mentally weak, they are just deceiving, some to the point they deceive themselves (I've watched someone do it, now he's addicted to the drugs his doctor gave him and he's a wreck...those drugs btw I believe are just like alcohol and nicotine, only for the moment) I may of not made sense...DX

Not everyone who is "depressed" has depression, they're just feeling sad. However, depression is a real disorder involving an imbalance of neurotransmitters that control energy and mood. Those people can only drag themselves off of the ground with enormous effort. This isn't a fake thing; it is real, measurable, and a cause can be pointed to. However, just like with ADD etc., most shrinks won't bother sending their patient to a neurologist to actually be tested and confirm the diagnosis. They just see a sad person and write a precription, which is a real disservice to their patient. I have Tourette's Syndrome and some associated disorders (mild OCD etc.,). This disorder is hereditary and involves an imbalance of the neurotransmitters seratonin and dopamine. I was diagnosed before anyone had any clue what it was and by middle school, thanks to talk shows, everyone thought it simply meant that I was going to randomly scream curse words.. which is a symptom I never had. My "tics" were physical.. and unfortunately very noticeable until later on. I recall the girl I REALLY liked in 6th grade walking up to me before homecoming and saying "If you didn't do that thing with your neck then I would go with you to the dance". Ugh. That one hurt.. because I couldn't promise that I could control it. I was put through a plethora of different medications with side effect that were wide, varied, and often horrible. Some made me hungry all of the time, others killed my appetite, some made my hyper while others turned me into a zombie. When I was 14 I began refusing to take even one more stupid pill. It's not like any of them helped anyway, they just added new problems. Which is why I don't like how easily people (especially young people) get prescribed medication for mental/emotional disorders.

Society tends to seperate and isolate those that are different with the excuse of keeping them in a suitable environment. People with disorders are handled by isolating, medicating, or turning the disorder into a joke.. which is what happened with Tourette's. Thankfully by the time I was 16 or 17 and had taken myself off of meds and learned to resist and control it a lot better... even managed to curb my tics to the point that people didn't know I had it unless I told them, but it took constant effort. I still have to stop and actively resist sometimes, but it's nothing like it was before. But let me tell you... I NEVER did it for attention. Attention to my Tourette's was the last thing I wanted. I'm still a bit socially awkward because of it. I don't consider myself mentally weak. The best analogy I can give someone without TS is that it is like allowing a burning ash to sit on your skin and resisting the instinct to brush it off. That's basically what resisting a tic is. I try to treat people with mental disorders just like I treat everyone else for the most part, which is to say I treat them how i'd like to be treated. The only difference is keeping in mind what they go through and being sensitive towards their adversity. Sometimes that means taking time out of my day to learn more about their disorder. With the internet it has become pretty easy to do. Just be kind and try to remember that sometimes the person might not be acting in the manner which they would like to act. It might be uncomfortable at times, depending on the condition, but remember that they have to actually live with it and its consequences. Not everyone who is labeled as having a mental disorder actually has that mental disorder, but I promise that the disorders DO exist and some people really do suffer because of it.

I apologize for being so long winded, I didn't intend to go for that long, but I wanted to do my best to explain from the point of view of someone that has suffered from a neurological disorder. Also I was bored waiting for the oven to pre-heat :)

I suffer from depression. The real kind.... it sucks....sometimes Im ok, most of the time Im not....but what can you do? Ive been on pills for it and they didnt work so now I just get by day to day. Its not something I really tell people but if by doing so I can impart any of my experiences to help someone else, then so be it, it will make me happy. I dont feel bad for suffering from it, I just see it as one of those things. Luckily for Im a fairly resiliant chap so I cope. I feel bad for my girlfriend though, since she has never had to deal with anyone suffering from depression before. I get her reasoning (which I wont discuss in public) and I feel bad that I cant make any promises about certain things, but she still accepts me for who I am which I am eternally grateful for. She makes me very happy yet I cant shake of the depression. I know its not that simple and true depression never goes away. It can be pushed back but its always there, waiting to kick me in the nuts every time Im happy for just that little bit too long. I dont see myself needing to talk to anyone though (as in specialists) as honestly I dont think they would be of any use. I know might sound like bad reasoning but Im a pretty logical guy and even I cant pinpoint the exact reason for me feeling the way I do and I studied psychology for a long time so I like to think I have a head start on myself....anyway, thats enough rambling from me. Time will eventually sort my head out with any luck but if anyone else is suffering from diagnosed depression or just what they think is depression, drop me a line, Id be more than happy to share my advice or even talk about what might be the problem. I have many years experience with this so I feel I know what Im talking about by now.....

I also think I might suffer from some sort of ADHD type condition though Im not sure, Ive never had myself checked out so if anyone knows what Im talking about and can tell me, please do. I have a real problem with concentrating on only one thing at a time....since most of my day is spent at a computer screen (and has been for the last 20 years....I simply cannot focus on just one thing. I MUST be doing at least 2 things at once at any one time, if its talking and listening to music, or playing a game and watching a movie or something at the same time..2 things at once is just a general thing..I do upwards of 4 or 5 things at once quite regularly and when I DONT i start to get a little agitated.... It worrys me at times but not enough to go and seek professional help. I mean, doing several things at once can be very productive since my focus is pretty equal among all tasks..... Jeez I can ramble...I think Ill leave it here before people start to die of old age trying to read everything Ive put here!

@Junichi_Aiko: As someone with a mental disorder that is completely out of my control, I'm going to have to disagree with you. My condition doesn’t appear to be genetic, but that remains to be seen since my cousin is now being taken out of school because of similar symptoms I have that render her a danger to herself and others. You say that you believe you might be bipolar, autistic, and have ADD, but that leads me to question your reasoning. Are those disorders genetic in your family? As for your friend, yes. That is a common thing to happen. My step-aunt was so deluded into thinking something was wrong with her that it really did drive her into a kind of madness, and certainly an addiction to medications she didn't need. It an ugly thing to see.

@wiglaf: In middle school there was a girl who was actually pretty popular and known for being a bit wild. One of her "wild" attributes being her sudden and inexplicable keening and neck tics. Sometimes she would laugh it off, but sometimes I'd catch her crying. I didn't know until much later it was TS. As for pop culture's idea of TS...I was extremely sheltered as a child and I never knew about the jokes society had placed upon it. It was hard for me to understand at first, because it was such a serious topic. After being diagnosed with my own disorder, I became subject to pop culture's idea of it as well. The people who knew about my condition thought it was "cool," and some even expressed a wish to have such a disorder. It was a little sickening, because I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I also have taken some time to learn about other people's disorders, even physical ones. Sometimes I catch people in a lie, though, and that hurts. As someone with a disorder, I want to be sensitive and knowledgeable to other disorders as well, and it’s startling that people make up problems that they have no idea how serious it is and then they just blow it off. It makes me feel like my disorder and me as a person being blown off and called a liar.

@SimonSanBR: I was diagnosed as depressed a couple years ago, but like you, I quit my medication. It can be a day by day sort of thing, but I think I've overcome it for the most part which leads me to believe that I was never depressed in the first place. I don't exactly trust doctors anymore. But even if I have mistrust in doctors, I don't think that turning to others without a Ph.D in doctor stuff is a wise choice. If you truly believe that you are suffering from ADHD or a variation on it and it's affecting daily life negatively, you should really go see a doctor. As a teenager, I can sympathize with a lot of those attributes, and obviously, I'm not a professional. :P