Are you ashamed of your mental illness?

I would say I am not to any degree, and have never been. I do have an aunt that however is very embarrassed/ashamed about it to so much of a degree that she won't even work and lives on disability.

Do you believe with the advances in understanding mental illness in our society, that we as a people are less apt to judge individuals based on their mental health status?

I would say yes simply because twenty years ago mental illness was undiagnosed in many individuals, and untreatable to a certain extent. With the increase in medication awareness, and avaliability (which is still a problem) we are becoming more and more of an open society on matters of mental health.

I'm not ashamed, but society has a long way to go....with stigma.

There are only a hand ful of people who know, because in the past when I have reached out, my friends ran. For example just last week a mutual friend, died of su#cide, and one friend, said' It was inevitivable, she was bipolar". OHHHH if it hadn't been the wrong place and time, I would've punched them. I've heard everything from psycho to that crazy beetch. ..in reference to disorders my friends have. The funny thing is that the people who say things like that have more problems than those who admit it. They self medicate and deny they have problems.

So I think we have a long way to go, that is why we have places like this to go, for support and understanding.

I told someone the other day I was bipolar, in context to our conversation, and they responded, "der". Like they had known forever. Well I never told them, so either it was spread, or my sx are obvious to some. But they love me just the same, and have been my friend for 22 years. But I'm suppose to meet their new gf and he warned me to watch my p's and q's. Should I take this as stigma?

I'm not ashamed, but then I know how I, myself, handle my own situation and I know I have nothing to be ashamed of. I have concern for myself in some areas and those I work on...but it's nothing I am ashamed of or feel "labels" me in a negative way.

However....I don't feel society is very accepting. Close family may understand sometimes, even a good friend or too...but it's not something I spread around when meeting new people. I've made that mistake a time or too and there are still too many people that just don't understand. And also I think there are just certain labels that people bristle w/....I don't bristle...but I know I tend to lump things into categorys...like depression....you know...that word is many things to many people....for some...it's as simple as you lost a loved one and you are going through a "depression"...a deep sadness and you just need time to get through it. Well I don't feel society really questions a label like that. But through it under the category of "I have a mental illness, I'm dealing w/ depression right now" and really you are just going through like my example...if people didn't know WHY you were saying "mental illness/depression"...just the words carry a stigma w/ them and people might start to get all sorts of way out ideas. Or I think society is more accepting of some things then others. Like if you mention something like schitzophrenia (sp?) ....I think society often tends to think of how illnesses can often be portrayed in the movies....people who are acting very violent, "crazy" w/ their actions and conversation....probably picture them rocking back and forth in a straight jacket in this little white room not able to function in main stream society.....does that make sense? Obviously a big misconception....not that I pretend to know anything about people dealing w/ schizophrenia...but trying to find one for an example that people in society seem to have a misconstrued view about. I don't know...I just feel there are certain terms and names for mental illnesses that even though people can function quite well in their daily life and live a very normal and well adjusted life....society doesn't understand enough about things and gets a really misunderstood idea about what that person is really dealing w/.

I think more information is getting out to the public and more people are willing to come in for help...but I don't feel more people are rushing out to tell anyone they know about what they are dealing w/ unless they feel a common bond w/ them.

For some reason many people think that they are all right and the others are the ill persons. I think that the best thing to do is to ignore those people and not having them in our lives whenever it is possible.

Nope not at all...

The movie industry I agree is very obsessed with displaying problems such as mental illness in completely wrong ways that aren't even true in 98% of people with the afflicted illness. Sure some people do commit suicide with a mental illness, but not everyone with a mental illness does that obviously.

The problem I think people have is that they think having a mental illness just means you're crazy. I'd venture to say that almost half of them don't even realize there are different types of mental illness, they just think "you're crazy". It just shows how stupid, unaccepting, and uncomfortable with themselves they are...I almost pity them.

Nope.

Theres a saying in Australia, it goes "No worries".

"No worries" is part of Australian culture. It's bad to worry!

As a consequence, mental illness is seen as a weakness.

I have givin a few blood noses to people that say MI is weak. It's fun seeing the look on their faces when I thump them.

oh heck yes.

I have felt trmendous shame around mental illness and hae been diagnosed about 8 times in the last 2 1/2 years. From depression and anxiety to bipolar, back and forth. I have been put on many different meds, but been unwilling to comply. I am classic in that as soon as I am doing fine, I stop taking the meds or I'm taking meds and suddenly start drinking and doing drugs. I am finally working again and that took over a year and half to come around, but since coming back to work I have tried to kill myself once and been hospitalized - perhaps a job isn't always the solution or any sign of normalcy.

I guess the onset of my illness also brought on a bunch of pain and confusion from childhood that also brought shame and guilt with it.

Can medication truly bring me back? Is there successful treatments out there? I feel lost and perhaps ready to admit that I actually need help. As my performance at work suffers, I realize just how poorly I am doing. Suicide continues to be some kind of option that at least takes some of the tension off. Bipolar as a diagnosis has frightened me from getting help. This is all so confusing.