Everyone's At It: Mental Illness. - Comments

beautifully written and great point.

Thank you for writing this.

I was just wondering, could I use this article as a resource for my English speech this year. It's all about Self-diagnosed illnesses and why it's so popular to have something wrong with you.

I thought I'd ask you first, just incase you wanted to say no.

thsi is one of the greatest articals ive read here on the net..serously..my family thinks that there is something wrong with me...but i dont know..they call me wierd and stuff,but i dont have a real diagnose.

Thank you for this. As an actual person who actually has a serious mental illness, I feel that this should have been said a long time ago. I have schizophrenia and literally can't function in public without meds. I hate it. It has ruined a few relaitionships, and I can't even have very many friends because as soon as they find out about me they leave. I hate it.

But it isn't just angsty that are at fault. It's also doctors who are so willing to take the easy way out and just label the slightest mental abscess with a serious mental condition and prescribe pills.

God i hate it when kids are like "WELL YOU KNOW WHAT, I HAVE MANIC DEPRESSION or I HAVE ADHD" andy ou know very well THEY DO NOT.
its not an excuse! Its real life things htat you juts haven't dealt with and think your stupid, immature behavior is acceptable and that by blaming seroius conditions you can get away with it.
Its also not funny when someones depresed, bipolor, anexitized, paranoid to laugh an make fun of them.

Menatl Illness isn't just retardation or schzyofrania!

This is really well-written =] I like that you addressed the subject without hiding anything.

I've never been diagnosed but have fought with mild depression for as long as I can remember; it runs in my family - my mom's bipolar, my cousin's schizophrenic, and I can list about 7 people with severe depression.

I can't understand on my life why anyone would want to fake that. It's unbelieveable how they don't realize how people with those mental disorders actually live day to day. :[ It's sick and oh-so twisted.

This article is really, very good. Thank you for writing it.

I agree with you that people have turned mental illnesses into a trend, but it also needs to be mentioned that the majority of people look down upon those who are truly sick. Like your friend who thinks that people with depression are "weak." Even with everyone and their bother claiming to have something wrong with them, when someone really does have a problem, they get ridiculed.

"It's just a five point quiz, calm down. Why can't you breathe? Chill" - Panic Disorder

"Can't you sit still for like five minutes?" - ADHD

"Get up, get out of bed! Get up! You don't even have to go to school, just get the F out of bed!" - Major Depressive Disorder

This is an amazing article. It's extremely well written. Well done.

I think many people dont understand or know there is a difference between feeling depressed at some stage and actually having depression. I believe this has a lot to do with the high rates of people claiming they have a mental illness.

I really liked the point you made about it being 'cool' to have a mental illness. my family and closest friends think i might have something wrong and i've been told and bribed by friends and family to get help but refuse to. I dont know whether its because im scared of what i'll find out or if it's something else. Reguardless, there is nothing 'cool' about having a mental illness and anyone who truly suffers from one will tell you exactly the same thing.

This issue of people claiming to have depression and what not will only get worse. Trends and music scenes will only further the sense that it's 'cool' to be 'emo'

amazing article, its something that needed to be said. Awesome job.

Honestly, I think that the doctors say you have a mental illness, even if you don't..
That's just my opinion. I know that there are people who truly have a mental illness, but a lot are also faking it. Or, they have been misinformed by their doctor.

Great article- it fully discussed everything that needed to be covered.

I really like this. Its very insightful
and quite intelligent.
It made me rethink a lot of my thoughts about depression.

I am constantly in and out of depression.
And it is diagnosed.
I'm not just saying it.
But I'm one of those people who wants help.
Needs help, but feels selfish for asking,
So just mumbles along, and when trying to ask for help pushes it in the back of their head and says ill do it next time.

I'm constantly going through bouts of depression.
But fuck it :)
I'm a teenager. It happens.

I agree with your friend who said people who began depression are weak but maybe not in his sense.
People who are depressed are weak, but they get stronger and stronger as they try to overcome it. Maybe that's what he meant.

Very nice article.

I honestly think that if these people who want mental illnesses actually lived with one for even a week, they'd change their mind. It's not fun, it's not glamorous. It flat out sucks most of the time. Why anyone would want it or even fake having one is beyond me.

Both of my neighbors (whom I go to school with) have ADHD. They're good kids, but they've been judged harshly because they just can't focus enough to do well in school. For years they've had to take medication just to pass their classes.

It's horrible what some people have to go through, and I applaud them whenever I can. They are so strong it's not even funny.

Fantastic article. I enjoyed it immensely. That conclusion was great, too :)

I'm don't suffer with depression or anything else metioned in the comments below, but I do suffer from severe ADHD. People constantly laugh and joke about having it and how it would be 'cool' to have it, but in the real world, I find it horrible.

I failed 4 of my exams because I just couldn't concentrate and during my lessons I was messing about.

But yeah, I think that people who lie are sick. They don't even know what they are talking about most of the time.

Fantastic Article =D

I'm like, almost the oppostie. Most people think I'm manic depressive or something along those lines, but I don't think so. I'm just short with people is all.

Oh wow, this was really well-written.

You got every single point right, and yeah, I hate it how everybody is all "I have OCD, I have SAD, I have Bipolar Disorder..." ect.

I don't know why they'd want one. It's horrible. :|

Thank you for writing this. :arms:

I'm really glad you wrote this. There are a few articles on here about depression and mental disorders, but some don't really mention the people that seem to...exaggerate their feelings to make it seem like they really are ill. An act of attention seeking, i suspect.
Nor do a lot seem to address some of people not wanting to get help, thinking that maybe they're just making a big deal out of nothing. I think a lot of the time if you are genuinly feeling that wrong, isolated, depressed or anything else then you [b]need[/i] to make something out of it.
As long as you get help and get yourself diagnosed - so the right help can be given - then hopefully things will be on the up.

This was really well written and seems to highlight what some people may over look as - like MeghanLydie said - the people that idolize this terrible thing that can really wreck and even end lives.

Not something anyone should really want to be like. :\

Your last paragraph was good. It shits me up the wall when people say, 'you're not alone, other people get over it, you'll get better'. Like there's this inevitable ending to a happy fairy tale and life's not like that. But the way you say it, it sounds like you believe what your saying, and you're not saying it just for the sake of it. You're saying because it meant/means something to you, and you want to share the idea with other people - and it comes across as so beautifully transparent that I believe it too.


What I find amusing; however, is that having a mental illness has become popular...Just ask all the doctors I've had who've handballed me on to someone else: Cluster B Symptoms; Borderline Personality Disorder; Severe Depression; Major Depressive Disorder; Panic Disorder; Developmental Disorder; "there's nothing wrong with you, you don't even need to be taking any medication"; "it's your family's fault for not being closely knit" (I hate this, don't blame my fuck-ups/problems on my family.); "you need to exercise till you exhaust yourself, that will stop you being depressed". And all this shit from trained people in the medical profession. I'm on so many drugs I feel like a pharmacy and I've tried so many anti-depressants that haven't worked that I can't remember all their names.

Just to make it clear...I'm not looking for sympathy. I'm stating the facts. But it's no wonder our generation is full of so many fucked up kids - whether they have a mental illness or want one cos it's 'cool' - when the medical profession can fuck you over so thoroughly, by either inventing an illness for you, denying a real illness, or just prescribing out lots of pills so they don't have to deal with actually trying to heal you.

Gotta love the world.

Haha, I'm sorry. I'm just in a cynical mood at the moment. But I like your article, it's new perspective and it's brave and it's the truth. And I'm glad you've put it out there.

xx

Well, my mom and I were concerned with my mental state, so we went to the doctors to figure out what was wrong. Turns out, I have a mild case of Bipolar Disorder 2, and Depression. I was put on antidepressants, and sent to a therapist. I'm scared. None of my really close friends have this, and I feel really alone. But I know I'm not.

Great article. Very well written.