Mental Illness

[ithinkjesusiscool]

Pax!
(this is for you suffering from Mental Illness or live with such a person)
What kind of help/support do you get due to your illness? and do your parish (try to) understand that painful mental illness?

[CatherineM]

The biggest problem my husband has is feeling people are afraid of him. The church secretary won't open the office door to him if she's by herself. We do need to sit in the back. Mass can be hard on schizophrenics. Having people behind him talking, singing, etc. can set off his symptoms.

[tinytherese]

Sometimes fellow Christians judge you for your mental illness. For example, if you have depression (like me) or anxiety, they might say that you have the illness or illnesses because you just don't trust in Jesus enough or if you simply pray for a cure hard enough that you'll get it. :frown:

[Spem in alium]

No one but my immediate family, grandparents and about two or three friends know about my history of mental illness (depression and anxiety issues). They've been great pillars of support. Here (and I assume it's similar in other places) mental illness is often downplayed as something not to be taken seriously or talked about, and it's often misunderstood. I probably would never tell anyone in my parish about my history as I don't like talking about myself much or revealing a lot of personal things.

[Kateri89]

I must say, it's a shame that there isn't a greater recognition of mental illness as genuine illness like diabetes or liver disease. I'm a psych nurse myself and I see the way other healthcare professionals treat psychiatric patients. If there was a much funding for mental illness as there is for breast cancer research, we'd be much better off.

[Spem in alium]

I must say, it's a shame that there isn't a greater recognition of mental illness as genuine illness like diabetes or liver disease. I'm a psych nurse myself and I see the way other healthcare professionals treat psychiatric patients. If there was a much funding for mental illness as there is for breast cancer research, we'd be much better off.

 

I agree. Mental illness is a significant issue, and a lack of understanding often leads to people not receiving the right help.

[photosynthesis]

I have a history of bipolar, was diagnosed in 7th grade and I'm 29 now.  I took medication for a long time, but I've been off for a few years.  I have a lot of difficult days...mornings are my hardest time.  I just can't get going without someone prodding me out of bed.  I feel bad saying this, but usually the one prodding me out of my bed is my 4 year old.  I can't say that the meds made it any better, so I don't take them at all.

 

If we have someplace to go, we usually get there on time.  We get to appointments and she is never late for school.  I am "functional."

 

I went to a lot of bad therapists in my teen years and wasted spent my freshman and sophomore years of high school in a psychiatric day program and an alternative high school.  I also spent summer vacation in a psychiatric ward after a suicide attempt when I was 13.  It was hands down the most traumatizing time in my life, and one therapist in particular was abusive.  Although I tried telling the staff members, no one took me seriously, because apparently having depression and being a teenager must mean that I have no credibility.  I can't say anyone saw the real issues I was struggling with and what caused them.  

 

I have so many bad memories of those places, and feeling like I was cut off from the mainstream world.  They treated us like children.  While my friends from the public high school were learning how to drive and filling out college applications, the psych program had us all on a "point system" where you get rewards for not being difficult.  I was always a "good kid" and my mother told me later that they kept me for longer than I needed to be there so that I could be "an example" for the other head cases.  One of the rewards you could get was a cigarette break between classes, even though we were all under 18.  So apparently making a suicide attempt means you're quarantined for 2 years, but if you're really, really good they'll let you kill yourself v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y with cigarettes :)  At the alternative high school, I was the only girl that wasn't slicing up her forearms or doing heroin.  Even though I tested into honors classes at the public school, the psych program and alternative schools  both had little to offer in the way of academics.  In fact, our algebra teacher was so frustrated with our class that he simply gave up teaching us and showed us Adam Sandler movies for the rest of the year.  So I can't do most high school math, but I know Billy Madison like the back of my hand.  I basically don't have a high school education (even though I somehow managed a college degree DESPITE what people told me about myself).   I probably sound really bitter, and I am.  Sometimes I think I might benefit from therapy, to undo a lot of the bad therapy I had growing up.  But sharing a bottle of wine with a good friend is much cheaper :)

 

I have to say I am grateful for my experience in certain ways.  Take the 2 least adjusted kids in each school in my state, put them all together and you have the alternative high school I went to.  Being surrounded by misfits and social rejects has helped me to be a more empathetic person.  I have seen *everything* so nothing shocks or surprises me.  There were kids who came from poor neighborhoods, and there were rich snobby kids, and everyone was in the same boat at this school.  We were all misunderstood and we realized we had more in common with each other than the rest of the world.  I learned that if you need to get out of a bad situation, sometimes you have to "play the game" even if the game isn't fair/was designed by morons.

 

Overall, the less interaction with mental health professionals i have, the better I feel :)  I have overcome a lot simply by prayer, practicing my faith and GROWING UP and learning to manage my emotions.  I also take herbal supplements and try to get a lot of Omega 3's.  I do feel the effects of bipolar in my life, and I know it still affects me, but I would rather deal with it than be on medication that isn't safe for pregnancy.

Edited June 9, 2013 by photosynthesis

[jazzytakara]

Suffering with anxiety and depression, I often react to things differently than someone not dealing with these particular mental illnesses. What helps me, even if tedious or frustrating, is explaining to those I deal with on a personal/daily basis how I feel, how I perceive a situation,etc. It helps people like my family and boyfriend understand what's going on in my head to some degree. This is especially applicable in conflict situations, so that things do not get out of hand over misunderstandings/misinterpretations. And with all conflicts, its best to allow the other person to explain their side as well. 

 

Parish wise, the priests who offer confession seemed more than prepared to help those who struggle with mental illness. One priest noticed my OCD causing scruples and advised me as penance to not be so hard on myself and to love myself more, as I was too critical and over analytic of everything I did/didn't do. This helped me a lot. Another priest in his confession explains the church teaching behind what we confess, especially if there is confusion, and when he realized how I upset I can get he kind of switched into what I can only describe as 'therapist mode' it was really helpful to be reminded that when the world seems to be crumbling around me, to view God as my one constant, who loves me regardless of how I feel about myself or how other's see me. 

 

So I think when it comes to getting help/support/understanding, stick with priests who are more aware of mental illness, speak with them about your concerns, seek help from close friends/family/therapist if need be, and pray. Also, I mean it when I say explaining how you feel/perceived something to others, many times what I mistook as cruelty was just a misunderstanding or a bad joke. Or when I have anxiety attacks, explaining them to those closest to me (who often witness  them in particular) has helped a lot, especially since them come to realize what may trigger them and can more adequately help me control them or not go through them at all. Also explaining to others aids in spreading awareness, so that hopefully one day, mental illness won't be such a misunderstood taboo...

[Anastasia13]

Please, just because you have a mental illness doesn't mean you shouldn't get by. The difference between a broken leg and a mental illness isn't just that a broken leg heals, but that mental illness is pretty much just in your head. You don't need crutches.*

 

Just like we would tell someone with a torn ligament, just walk it off. You'll be fine. Scientifically verifiable biological/physiological problems does not mean anything is wrong with you. It's not like common sense and medical studies show there is anything real.**

 

*But you may need drugs and/or a couple adaptations in life.

**Except that sometimes there is a biological problem such as a neuro-chemical imbalance.

Edited June 9, 2013 by Light and Truth

[Anastasia13]

I must say, it's a shame that there isn't a greater recognition of mental illness as genuine illness like diabetes or liver disease. I'm a psych nurse myself and I see the way other healthcare professionals treat psychiatric patients. If there was a much funding for mental illness as there is for breast cancer research, we'd be much better off.

 

Mental illness scares people. It could happen to them. It isn't as easy as a biopsy and doesn't go away with a couple years of chemo/radiation/surgery. You don't necessarily recognize it like you do a bruise or sprain or cold. You won't always see the reality shifting beneath your feet, or even the feet of the person next to you. Predictability of social behavior becomes something different than they were familiar with, especially when they don't know the rules of the psychological game. Welcome to: The PsychLight Zone. *insert theme song here. do do do do... :cans:

Edited June 9, 2013 by Light and Truth

[tinytherese]

Please, just because you have a mental illness doesn't mean you shouldn't get by. The difference between a broken leg and a mental illness isn't just that a broken leg heals, but that mental illness is pretty much just in your head. You don't need crutches.*

 

Just like we would tell someone with a torn ligament, just walk it off. You'll be fine. Scientifically verifiable biological/physiological problems does not mean anything is wrong with you. It's not like common sense and medical studies show there is anything real.**

 

*But you may need drugs and/or a couple adaptations in life.

**Except that sometimes there is a biological problem such as a neuro-chemical imbalance.

 

I'm not entirely sure what you mean here. I doubt that you're trying to offend anyone, but there are parts of your post that could be perceived as offensive.

 

First, what do you mean by "mental illness is pretty much just in your head"? Do you mean that mental illness isn't real like we're imagining it, or that it isn't something that can be seen like a missing eye, or something else all together?

 

One of the most common misconceptions about mental illness is that if you try harder, then you won't be ill anymore. Mental illness is not a lack of will power.

 

Second, what do you mean by "You don't need crutches...But you may need drugs and/or a couple adaptations in life"?

 

Third, "Just like we would tell someone with a torn ligament, just walk it off. You'll be fine." Do you tell a cancer patient to just walk it off?

[Anastasia13]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean here. I doubt that you're trying to offend anyone, but there are parts of your post that could be perceived as offensive.

 

First, what do you mean by "mental illness is pretty much just in your head"? Do you mean that mental illness isn't real like we're imagining it, or that it isn't something that can be seen like a missing eye, or something else all together?

 

One of the most common misconceptions about mental illness is that if you try harder, then you won't be ill anymore. Mental illness is not a lack of will power.

 

Second, what do you mean by "You don't need crutches...But you may need drugs and/or a couple adaptations in life"?

 

Third, "Just like we would tell someone with a torn ligament, just walk it off. You'll be fine." Do you tell a cancer patient to just walk it off?

 

Mental-mind-brain-head

 

By drugs and adaptations, meant to add some recognition of reality while I was making fun of people who think that mental illness just means you need to try harder.

 

There was this comedy routine that I wish I could find again where the lady was talking about depression and how people treat it like just go walk it off.. compared to someone breaks a leg, just to walk it off... and it pointed out the disparity in how the two conditions are treated.  (If anyone knows who that is, tell me!)

Edited June 10, 2013 by Light and Truth

[CatherineM]

People were stunned when I married a man with schizophrenia. As far as I am concerned, it is an imbalance of the blood comparable with diabetes. It requires a lifetime of medication, monitoring, life style changes, and occasional hospitalizations.

I'd much rather be married to a schizophrenic who takes his meds, than a diabetic who refuses to monitor their blood sugar levels.

[Kateri89]

Mental illness scares people. It could happen to them. It isn't as easy as a biopsy and doesn't go away with a couple years of chemo/radiation/surgery. You don't necessarily recognize it like you do a bruise or sprain or cold. You won't always see the reality shifting beneath your feet, or even the feet of the person next to you. Predictability of social behavior becomes something different than they were familiar with, especially when they don't know the rules of the psychological game. Welcome to: The PsychLight Zone. *insert theme song here. do do do do... :cans:

Yeah but how many people with mental illness are now homeless because of de-institutionalization?  So if society is afraid of mental illness, wouldn't they be better off funding state hospitals?  There are simply some people too mentally ill to function outside of a structured setting.  Not too mention, while breast cancer research is important, the amount of pink-ribboned items every October makes me want to vomit.  There's no doubt in my mind that some of these stores/companies just want to look like they care but it's all good PR for them.  There are other forms of cancer and other illness after all.

 

All I know is that there are far too many patients that get readmitted time after time because they need more help but instead services keep being cut.

[Anastasia13]

Yeah but how many people with mental illness are now homeless because of de-institutionalization?  So if society is afraid of mental illness, wouldn't they be better off funding state hospitals?  There are simply some people too mentally ill to function outside of a structured setting.  Not too mention, while breast cancer research is important, the amount of pink-ribboned items every October makes me want to vomit.  There's no doubt in my mind that some of these stores/companies just want to look like they care but it's all good PR for them.  There are other forms of cancer and other illness after all.

 

All I know is that there are far too many patients that get readmitted time after time because they need more help but instead services keep being cut.

 

If we don't talk about it and pretend it isn't there, maybe problems will just disappear.

 

I agree about breast cancer.