It's Time to Put an End to the Stigma of Mental Illness

[Decentguy]

A little info regarding to mental health around the world...

Buckle up ladies and gents because I'm gonna take you out for a ride to the other side of reality which will open up your minds.

Let me give you a small introduction about myself:

I'm a person who was born with Dyslexia, Dysparaxia, and many other disorders. I'm currently suffering from 8 different disorders and mental illnesses for more than 18 years which doesn't have any cure. I will have to suffer from them till my death. Those disorders and mental illnesses are: Dyslexia, Dysparaxia, ADHD, Insomnia, Anxiety, Depression, Schizophrenia, and PTSD.

People get freaked out around other people with mental illness

I have heard and seen a lot of times people being ashamed of hanging out with others who are suffering from mental illness.

(*I have heard a lot of times from people,and on gag too, that the person I'm dating is suffering from Schizophrenia and I'm afraid he/she is a dangerous person.*)

I'm a schizophrenic since my childhood. Yes I have seen many illusions and hallucinations, and I still see them in my daily life. But that doesn't mean I'm a psychopath. I can tell the difference between reality and illusions and my hallucinations. I know a lot of times in the news, they tell you that a schizophrenic person has killed someone, cut a person's throat just because the voices in their head told them to. Let me tell you something, I have never killed anyone, never beat up any innocent person in my whole life. Yes, I know That I have asked a lot of questions related to anger management issues and feeling a lot of anger on GAG. But NO, that doesn't have anything to do with my Schizophrenia. That has a lot to do with my past, and my child abuse, etc, I won't get into details because its my personal life and I don't like to discuss my personal life with anyone.

Anyways, yes I am a person with anger management issues but just because I'm suffering from a lot of mental illnesses and disorders, that doesn't mean I get angry without any reason, and on every random person. I get angry on only those people who tries to piss me off and gives me a reason to be angry. Just like normal people. My point of telling this here is that I'm suffering from 8 different disorders and mental illnesses and the most dangerous of them is Schizophrenia. But still, I haven't hurt anyone. Believe it or not, I'm not trying to brag, but I do a lot of random acts of kindness in my daily life and a lot of people have told me in real life and on gag too, that "I never figured it out, that you are suffering from those mental illnesses and disorders because you seem like a totally normal person to me." Bottom Line is, just because a person is a schizophrenic doesn't mean he/she must be a psychopath.

I have heard a lot of times from people, "I'll never date a person with depression."

People often make fun of people with depression when they feel depressed and act depressed, or call them attention seekers when they talk about their depression. Trust me, for the people who haven't suffered from depression before and don't know what it's like, you literally don't have a single clue what it's like to battle with depression every day. Depression is a big battle in some people's lives that many people have lost the battle with, even some famous celebrities.

Some famous people and celebrities who lost the battle with Mental Illness:

1. Robbin Williams

The suicide of comedian and Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams was a shocking loss to all those who found joy in his films and standup routines. Williams was found dead in his home in Tiburon, Calif., on Aug. 11, 2014, after hanging himself on his bedroom doorknob. He suffered from manic depression throughout his life, which stemmed from bipolar disorder.

2. L’Wren Scott

Fashion designer and stylist Laura "Luann" Bambrough, known professionally as L'Wren Scott, hanged herself on March 17, 2014. Scott began her career as model and moved to America to serve as a stylist to the stars. She was most recently dating Rolling Stones frontman, Mick Jagger. After bouts with depression, the 49-year-old was found dead in her Chelsea, Manhattan, apartment by her assistant.

3. Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain stunned the music world when the Nirvana lead singer killed himself via gunshot at the age of 27.

4. David Foster Wallace

The author David Foster Wallace committed suicide in his home on Sept. 21, 2008. His 1996 novel, "Infinite Jest" was one of his best known tomes and Time Magazine named it one of the "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005." He was 46 when he died. In June of 2015, a biopic on Wallace "End of the Tour" was released in theatres. The troubled author is portrayed by actor Jason Segel in the film

See this video of a very famous celebrity,who is still suffering from depression: The Rock.

A list of some celebrities who are currently suffering from mental illnesses:

1. Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato has been open about her struggle with bipolar disorder, cutting and bulimia. "I never found out until I went into treatment that I was bipolar," she told People when she was 18.

2. Angelina Jolie

The movie star admitted that she used to cut herself as a teen. “I went through a period that when I felt trapped I would cut myself. I have a lot of scars,” she told OK! magazine

3. Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba opened up about her OCD to CosmoGirl, telling the magazine, “It was like a panic would come over me and I had to do something, and once I did it, I was OK... It was really me needing to control something.”

4 . Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio suffers from OCD, which he drew upon while playing Howard Hughes in The Aviator.

Bottom line is *A lot of people with mental illnesses are really kind, sweet, and nice human beings and are not Psychopaths. SO STOP THIS STIGMA.*

Thank you for reading.

[BronzedAdonis]

good take, I used to suffer from depression but recovered :)

[Decentguy]

Nice Man. !

[cupidkisses]

I didn't know that insomnia is a mental illness. Good Take!

[WhistleForTheChoir]

I know, I always had thought it was a symptom, but I think it can be both a symptom and a disease. Like depression.

[cupidkisses]

@WhistleForTheChoir Thank you! :)

[meowcow]

@Decentguy @Rainie_ @Lunalove and others...

How do you propose to end the stigma when you have not even identified the underlying cause of it? In almost all societies, those with mental illness and other ailments are ostracized. There is a reason for that... do you even know what it is?

It boils down to this. There are 7 billion people on this planet and each person does not give a shit about the other 6,999,999,999 people, aside from their immediate family and friends.

If a person is bipolar, schizo, suicidal, depressed... etc, people do not give a shit. We all have our own lives to live, and such people represent a perceived risk to our lives. A parent with a little child is not going to leave their kid with a bipolar, schizo, suicidal person. The reality is that those children will be taught to avoid people who are mentally unstable, and prone to make rash, illogical, or violent decisions.

Yes yes, any person may be capable of doing such things. That is why people are always vigilant when evaluating new people they meet. Those with visible mental illness are going to be more easily flagged to avoid. While I am sure those with mental illness can be "nice and awesome people", they are also more capable of making very bad decisions. Or during a critical lapse of judgment, become a "very very bad person", beyond the scope of the average person.

Is it always their fault? No. Courts often find mentally ill criminals "not guilty" due to their mental illness. Does the average joe give a shit whether they are legally guilty or not? No. All they see is that mentally ill people are more likely to do harm - either to themselves or others. And so the average joe wants no part of that.

Take this fucker...
www.straight.com/.../ubc-international-student-not-criminally-responsible-attempted-murder-campus

International university student. One night, he knocks on a random dorm room and starts stabbing the woman who opens the door. Slits her throat... but she survives. The perpetrator is guilty of doing it... there is no doubt it was him. But he was found "not guilty" due to mental illness.

So tell me... what kind of moron would want to be in the same room as this guy? Who want's to have him babysit your kids. Do you call this stigma? Or common sense? Nobody has a crystal ball to predict when these people might implode. That is why all people with mental illness are usually ostracized.

[Decentguy]

Dude, you are talking about a very different thing here. There are two types of people with mental illness. One : Unstable Two : Stable. you are comparing unstable mental people with stable ones. which is completely non sense. And every mental illness is different. A person with depression won't hurt or try to physically harm the other person. depression has nothing to do with that. A person with Schizophrenia might do that, But a person with bipolar or depression would never.
by the way, A person with bipolar and depression, doesn't gives a single shit about people like you either, Because they are busy dealing with their own hell. So the question isn't who gives a shit about who. The thing is, People need to shut their fucking mouths, about people who are suffering from mental illnesses. Who haven't done any harm to anyone. A person like that, in the link you shared, thats Very different,

[Decentguy]

im not talking about those type of people with mental illnesses. im talking about the people with stable conditions. So people need to shut their fucking mouths and open their god damn brain, before judging or criticizing any person with mental illness

[Decentguy]

and by saying : Nobody has a crystal ball to predict when these people might implode.
it means, you have no proper knowledge regarding to mental illnesses.
A person with a mental illness, even with schizophrenia, but with a stable condition, can never be implode. now i know what are you gonna say, That how should we know that he's in a stable condtion or not, The thing is, even a idiot can spot a unstable schizophrenic very easily. An unstable schizophrenic will never act normally, he would always be acting like a freak. So judging stable people with mental illness, is entirely stupid. instead you should have a proper knowledge regarding to mental illness, before judging other non violent people with mental illness

[meowcow]

@Decentguy

Obviously you are clueless to the reality of this world.
I am 100% RIGHT when I said nobody can predict when a person might implode from their mental illness. You think that I have "no proper knowledge regarding to mental illness" because I can't predict when people lash out?

Why do you think police shoot mentally unstable people so often? You think a mentally ill person with depression is incapable of harm? You're an idiot. There are hundreds of mentally ill sickos who are depressed, and they kill themselves through various means. Do you even have a vague clue about the harm it does to a mother and father to walk into the bedroom to find their dead kid hanging from the ceiling? Or what about depressed people who suicide by cop. They bring a real-looking (but fake) gun and taunt the police to shoot them. These sickos FORCE another human being to kill them. Do you know how many police officers go home with severe trauma, knowing they killed someone?

[meowcow]

There is no such thing as a "stable" and "unstable" mentally ill person. Depressed people are not "stable". These traits simply apply to the same person at different times. A "stable" mentally ill person today, can be the "unstable" killer tomorrow. This is why it is impossible to predict, and why random violence by mentally ill people is UNPREDICTABLE.

Nobody is going to shut their mouths about people with mental illness. The other day, I saw this guy (who I assumed was mentally ill), walking around the MacDonalds asking everyone for money and getting all angry when people refused. This guy walked up to a mother who was by herself with a baby in her arms, and another in a stroller. And this idiot started to harass her for money when she said no.

I don't give a shit what this guy's mental illness was. I was half a second away from punching this guy in the face and knocking him out cold. But I ended up grabbing him and forcing him out the restaurant before yelling at him to fuck off.

[meowcow]

And this is a prime example of why there is a very good reason for the stigma of mental illness. These people are not in a good frame of mind, and can physically or mentally hurt others and themselves.

You have still given no reason why you expect any rational human being to open their arms and accept someone who poses a threat - or even a perceived threat - to their family.

While not all mentally ill people are psychopaths, strangers are not given the benefit of the doubt. In the 2 minutes where a strange acting person passes me, I have neither the patience nor the interest to dive into their brain to determine whether they are a threat or not. All I know is that if he starts fucking with me, or another family on the street, he is going to get curb stomped.

[Decentguy]

Right, im the one who is clueless. lmao
its useless to talk to you, becuase you are just a ignorant person with a close mind. thats all you are, and you always will be. seriously man. did a woman with a mental illness dumped you before or what? lol

[Lilyanony]

Imagine working in healthcare. I myself was always known for my bright and bubbly disposition. A lot of crap has happened to me over the years but I never let anything get me down. I was confident, kind and most people would say a joy to be around.
When I worked in the hospital there is this disgusting bullying culture it is a top London trust. Perhaps it's because it's dental but after coming away from it, this is the nhs culture in the four years I was there.
I was gaslighted, ignored, undermined, isolated.
I was laughed at during work training for making remarks I was stoned from conversations.

I started to withdraw, lost my confidence, became paranoid and developed extreme levels of anxiety.
Whilst this was going on at work I was being harassed by my neighbour. After rejecting his advanced several times he resorted to waiting until I slept to banging wardrobe doors, causing me to just out of my sleep, this was happening continuously for months. So obviously the lack of sleep destroyed my attention affected my memory. I started to write things down.

When I discussed this with my line manager at first she implied all my problems were in my head once I was signed off with stress she concluded to knowing the culprits but couldn't do a thing until I wrote down an account of what had gone on.

In the past is always been kind and considerate of others but I had endured the worst possible type of bullying. I have only just started to see my mental health improve 2 years later.
What left I suffer depression I fear making connections and don't trust I don't go out as often.
Despite trying to be optimistic and looking for love, I constantly meet "Playa's" but I think that's a cause of perhaps Shay I'm projecting. For fear of getting close to someone again.

I'm a working progress and I don't shone others with mental health, I just have to deal with my own first.

I'm no help to anyone if I cannot help myself.

Excuse my poor grammar.

[Decentguy]

Really sorry to hear about that

[Rainie_]

I wholeheartedly agree. People really underestimate how nice or/and awesome people with mental illness can be. The stigma pisses me off a lot because it makes people suffer more than they already are, and often times the stigma itself is worse than the illness.

I think people take movies and documentaries too literally and think everyone must be that crazy and psycho if they have it. There's no doubt there's crazy ones but a massive majority are not. In fact many walk around not even knowing they have a mental illness and somehow that makes it okay to date or be friends with them, simply because they don't have a label.

[Decentguy]

Exactly

And i totally agree on the part, that often times, the stigma is more worse then the illness

[luna_love]

I suffer from schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. being labelled such I'm now unable to get a job, find a home, or even get any form of medical help. I have actually been refused both medical and psychological help because they don't want to help people who are unstable. I have lost several "friends" when i told them about my condition. I think we should start to teach about several mental illnesses in high school, and help break the stigma surrounding it.

and thanks for sharing this, it was interesting to read ^_^

[Decentguy]

Really sorry to hear about that. i dont have any friends either.

And no Prob :)

[FakeName123]

If you really look into people, you will be hard-pressed to find a single person who is completely, mentally healthy with a line between shortcomings and serious issues that isn't clear by any means.

So where do you draw said line? Who deserves pity and who not? Can you give altruistic reactions to almost everyone?

Unlikely. Its your package to carry, your hardship to take. There are reasons for those stigmas. People don't want to bother with other peoples instability. Even less so when they pose a threat in one way or another. That is for keeping toxicity out of your life, but also for very biological reasons.

Thus I fully agree with @meowcow

[sp33d]

There is a difference between feeling blue and suffering from depression or any other kind of mental illness. Be as it may, there are also a lot of clowns out there that Claim all this, which is infuriating and one of the causes for this stigma.
"I have heard a lot of times from people, "I'll never date a person with depression."

You will also hear me say it. Not because I look down on the people that genuinely struggle with this shit every day, but because I know what a burden it is and I want nothing to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Mental illnesses don't exist... everyone has different personalities & in my honest opinion when somebody with schizophrenia or OCD or bipolar shows whatever symptoms they process again IMHO it's their individual personality traits that psychologists diagnose as supposed "symptoms" because those "symptoms" are not the supposed norm

I was diagnosed with depression because of a bad childhood there's a legitimate reason for my depression so it's not an "illness" I can't believe any of eat up what these psychologists aka money hungry scammers tell you

[dandaman62]

tell that to my deceased wife.

[Super2nd]

Why would people with no mental illness date someone who have depression?
I'm not being asshole. I'm just saying that people have the right to reject anyone who they don't like.

If I want to be with someone who makes me happy then ofcourse I would favor that person.

Also taking Celebrities as an example is not the wisest thing to do, most of them are addicts and have very immoral life.

And finally,
You can't compare mental illness to cancer !

[Reach500]

why can't mental illness be compared to cancer?

[Decentguy]

people have the total right to date whoever they want to, its not about that.
but rejecting someone just because they are suffering from mental illness and Making them feel like a piece of shit, and degrading them, just becuase they have mental illness. There is a big Difference in both of them. You can reject them. But Making them feel like a piece of shit by making them realize how less of a person they are just because of their mental illness is very different and a asshole move that most people do these days.

and you def can compare canver to mental illness in the sense of having it. Nobody gets cancer by their choice, No one blames any people with cancer, that you are a attention seeker, or you brought this on your self, unline people with mental illness, which they get blame on everytime, Nobody is that fucking stupid, who would brought mental illness upon themselves, and nobody has the choice to do that either. So yes,. in that sense it is comparable !

[Super2nd]

Cancer is a deadly disease that people have no choice about it and most of them will eventually die.
but mental illness is entirely different, cause they can seek help and improve on the long run ( most of them can ).
And I agree with you on being asshole on mental illness people, its not acceptable at all. but its in our nature to bring the best of us when we meet someone new so I guess that's why a lot of people try to avoid these things.

And I believe, the people with real depression tends to be silent about it rather than telling everyone they are depressed. so that's why some people got backfired and calls them attention seekers.

[Decentguy]

most of the mental illnesses doesn't have any cure, Its a battle that a lot of people can never win from it.

[Super2nd]

@Decentguy That's not true !
most of them can. the ones who can't are those who keep it secretly.

[Toad-1]

Nice take dude. Check out mine its on a similar topic www.girlsaskguys.com/.../a50107-10-common-cognitive-distortions-that-contribute-to-negative-or

[Reach500]

If there was less stigma against people with mental illness, maybe more people would feel free to seek the help they need early on, and there would be less tragedy.

[Decentguy]

exactly

[PrincessPie]

Robin Williams also had start of Dementia when he killed himself.
I was sad about him, He was literally my childhood.

[Arbalest]

I feel like mental illness will remain a stigma until a certain group of people stops pretending it doesn't exist.

[Eyes_On_Me]

I agree. Lots of people in the world have mental illnesses and they aren't bad at all. I also have depression and I'm getting better, but I still don't have the courage to tell most people.

[PellakaWurm]

I agree that the stigma is harmful, but even more harmful then that are people who say they have something but they don't. things like "I always touch this first, lol I'm such ocd" are really cringing too.