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11-01-24 12:14 AM
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Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - World Affairs/Debate - Depression and Mental Illness
  
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Theprankster157
Posts: 48/64
I concur. It scares people to see a persons life deteriorate for no reason, and then think "hey! That could be me." I also think, that seeing one person fall apart and become depressed has the tendency to make others happy, Because then they can look at their own life and say "Its not so bad after all". It makes them feel better about themselves.

I remember in 8th grade, there were these group of people that hung out. You know like a click sort of thing. And just randomly one day They came up to me and we're all like your so fuckin dumb. Oh wait I take that back, I wouldn't want you to go kill yourself.

And I didn't understand it then, but I think that her putting me down was just a way for her to support a belief that The world's just a perfect place and that nothing will ever go wrong, and only those with a reason will have issues.
Tarale
Posts: 2370/2713
Not understanding is certainly part of the issue -- despite there being more information now than ever before, it's not fully understood what causes some mental illnesses.

I don't think people like to think that this could happen to them too. They don't want to. It's easier to say that something another person did made it happen -- like that they're a "bad person" or whatever. Or that they're just not trying hard enough and therefore they "deserve" to feel miserable. No-one likes to think they could lose control over their body, mind or life -- by deciding that for some reason somebody did something to cause it to happen then they build up a false sense of safety.

Of course not understanding makes it easier to think such things, but I think it also ties into the Just World and Invulnerability Hypotheses. It happens with things like victim-blaming with regards to rape victims too.
Theprankster157
Posts: 46/64
I actually think that people get angry about it because they dont understand. They dont see how someone could feel that way. Alls they can see is what the person shows, which from my experience, is almost always just an expression of they feel is how things should be, even though underneath, they feel like shit. People feel that everyone should be happy and go with the flow so to speak. They don't like being shown that there are times when life sucks. And so they look down on those who feel that way. People want everyone to be the same, so that they don't have to be acceptant of differences. I sound so off the wall here. What Im trying to say is that Depression is something that is different to people. They dont understand it, and its been proven that we're scared of what we dont understand. And when we're scared we get angry.
Tarale
Posts: 2368/2713
I had some thoughts on why people get angry about others getting Depression and Mental Illnesses after reading a bit about cognitive biases.

I wonder if it has to do a bit with things like the Just World Phenomenon. The Just World Phenomenon is a cognitive bias that a lot of people have where they have trouble with the idea that bad things happen to good people -- so they assume that for a bad thing to have happened, the person must have been bad.

It's also comforting to think this way I guess -- because then you can tell yourself that as long as you're a good person, then it won't happen to you.

Depression and Mental Illnesses also upset people's Illusion of Control cognitive bias -- as it can often be something that cannot be controlled...
Theprankster157
Posts: 44/64
Originally posted by Crashman
I had a bad year in college. My doctor put me on prozac, which put me on auto-pilot. My friends stuck by me, but wont talk to me much about it. I remember almost nothing for a stretch of 7 months. I flunked 2 classes that semester and barely passed the rest.

This is some serious shite, and i have real sympathy for anyone struggling with it.


yea I know what you mean. 8th grade / 9th grade were my real bad years. I went through so many meds. I feel sorry for anyone who has to go through that, because it's not fun being put on a different medication a month. I failed hella lot of classes cuz i was gone from school alot. The teachers were sympathetic tho. Always a plus.
Crashman
Posts: 72/80
I had a bad year in college. My doctor put me on prozac, which put me on auto-pilot. My friends stuck by me, but wont talk to me much about it. I remember almost nothing for a stretch of 7 months. I flunked 2 classes that semester and barely passed the rest.

This is some serious shite, and i have real sympathy for anyone struggling with it.
Theprankster157
Posts: 43/64
I have ADHD and Bi polar. It sucks alot. I was on meds for a while. But it messed my system up so Im off now. Im still not sure if its agood thing yet.
Doppelganger
Posts: 274/300
I've always wondered if i've had ADHD. I doubt it though, I don't really show the symptoms, then again, I haven't ever been tested for it. Do you get tested for it or do doctors just notice it? Hell if I know. Anyway, that kinda sucks Tarale. Scary thought how that all works. Hopefully the medication will keep you from completely losing it. That would be worse. =(
Jomb
Posts: 348/448
ADHD is one of the ones I sometimes wonder about. Are'nt children normally a little hyper and inquisitive? Why medicate them to zombies over it?
KP9001
Posts: 81/180
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. I had it bad. I had trouble with the medicines I was taking. I kept switching from different ones until finally I just stopped takingthem at around the age of fifteen, which solved all my ADHD problems. No issues with it ever again.
Tarale
Posts: 2130/2713
Rom Maniac -- I already meditate, but probably not as often as I should. I find it's hard to find the time. It sort of helps with the anxiety aspect.

Blah... and I'm so bad with words today.... let's try saying what I've been trying to say (for approximately 45 minutes now) again...

You know how some people think that others are "weak" for being on medication? I wonder if perhaps it's cause they don't see the real freaky lows of things like Depression. They see the fairly normal stuff.

Atypical Depression sufferers are capable of being quite normal in social situations -- it's a characteristic of that subtype of Depression; we respond to highs and lows. Social situations are usually highs; we react positively, generally Atypical Depression sufferers will come across cheerful and normal in a social situation. So, nobody thinks that there's a problem. And then cause they don't see it, maybe they think you're being "weak" for being on medication for a problem they don't see.

Thing is, with my situation, it's only been family and my former partner who saw/see the lows. And I suspect that's not something that is exclusive to my experience with Depression. Other people don't see me crying into the sink when I'm trying to do the dishes, cause they won't come clean. Or screaming. Or when I'm suicidal, or when I have self-harmed. The scary stuff -- the stuff I'm on medication in an effort to prevent from happening.

Does that make sense? I dunno...
Danielle
Posts: 5982/6737
I think that in many cases, it's hard to truly diagnose someone with a mental illness. Unless it is causing them obvious physical health effects, the mental aspect of it is much more difficult to understand. To the person claiming the illness, it may seem to them obvious and in dire need of help, but to others around them it might seem needy and excessive to have medical treatment. And if that person can hide it well, the doctor can't properly diagnose anyway. I know this isn't necessarily true for all mental illnesses... some can be scientifically proven one way or another... but that's not my point. I don't know if mental illness rates are increasing because more people THINK they have an illness, or if people are just becoming more accustomed to letting it all out and getting help. Obviously having bipolar disorder or serious depression is going to be more severe than, say, acute obsessive-compulsive disorder, but does that make it any less of a mental illness? Does it not count as a mental illness as much simply because it is easier to treat?

(I might have gone offtopic a bit... but those are the thoughts that come to mind after reading this thread. Sue me.)

Either way though, there should be some method of help for anyone and everyone, whether it be medication or simply some dependable friends. I'm sorry to hear that you had such careless, flaky friends, Tarale. =\
Sin Dogan
Posts: 728/861
It's not the same as depression, but it is a mental illness..

I work at a nursing home(activity dept). A lot of residents there have Alzheimer's and/or dementia. I learned at my old job how to communicate and such with the more delicate people. I have infinite patience with them. And rightfully so. We(others) have no right to be otherwise. In my opinion, only those with such mental conditions are allowed to be angry. I've learned little by little how they think. Some people try talking to them without considering what they are more likely to understand...others don't understand them or what they talk about...
I can tell that some of the residents themselves don't know what they want, let alone how to express their needs. I've learned that there are certain triggers like songs and people in particular which always stay constant to most. For example, even some of the most severe cases sing along.

I am really against putting senior citizens into homes. A lot of families just don't know how bad it is or how much their loved ones want to see them. There are only a few who prefer living alone away from family. The cost of living is insanely disproportionate.(its about 5,000 per month where I work) The aides can be pretty neglectful. It's brutal how in that line of work, more than ever, the ones being serviced are most important yet are often times ignored.
Arwon
Posts: 380/631
Bipolar disorder, true clinical bipolar disorder, is a frightening thing to behold and it has indeed come to take on a whole other meaning these days.
Jomb
Posts: 347/448
In my experience, people who are healthy do not want to believe that mental illness really exists, they want to believe that everyone is perfectly in control of their own actions and can make rational decisions. To allow for the reality that some people are mentally ill would mean that there are people not totally responsible for their actions, and most people will not tolerate that notion. Most people cant conceive of such a thing in any real way, having never experienced it. It's like trying to get someone to believe in something they cant see or feel, and that they ardently dont want to believe in or are unwilling to take the time to learn about. Some people also look at like this "you got problems, so do i, but you dont see me popping pills over mine, get over it wimp".

Another part of the problem, I think, is that their are too many bogus "mental illnesses" being invented to market medication, which detracts from the people who really are mentally ill. It used to be if you were diagnosed as bi-polar that really meant something, now it seems like everyone and their mother are being diagnosed as bi-polar, for example. About 10 years ago I only knew of 1 person in my area who had a mental illness diagnosis, and she really was. Now I know of at least a couple dozen just in my area, and most of them i have doubts about. I even know one guy who gets disability over it and he seems perfectly normal to me and says he's faking it for the money. Just because someone is slightly quirky that does'nt make them mentally ill, that title needs to be reserved for people who truly cant cope on their own.

The medication for depression is a scary concept to me. I've been depressed before, I even was put in a solitary confinement rubber room once for suicidal behavior many years ago, but I've always refused all medication. Most people I've known who went on that sort of medication had major personality changes, for the worse. But if the choice is take the medication or die, obviously go with the medication. I'd say only use the medication if all other options had been thoroughly exhausted.
beneficii
Posts: 241/310
Tarale,

The rate of depression may not be rising; it may be that cases are becoming more well-known.

As for people being accusatory toward you; I know what you're talking about. Like with Yoro coming out after being all bottled up and then people thrashing her for it, this is you coming out with that. One reason may be that it's sudden. You had spent all your time fronting a mask and people had got a level of comfort with you, when suddenly the mask falls away revealing a quite different face. It's sort of unpredictable at this point, but you should stay at it and don't deny who you are and where you came from and continue to work at improving yourself. What sucks even more is when you're pretty sure of yourself and you want people to know, you find that you have to keep wearing the mask, lest you find yourself an "attention whore."
windwaker
Posts: 219/235
I personally feel that the downsides of an SSRI outweigh the benefits unless you would kill yourself otherwise.

But that's just my opinion, and I wouldn't be an asshole to people just for getting on an SSRI (unless they complained about the downsides -- you should know what you're getting into when taking medication).
Rom Manic
Posts: 312/557
I feel you should consider Meditation, Tarale. I do it often and I feel as though I am relaxed and content after each session, and that feeling is enhanced when I smoke a gram or 2 of weed at the same time.

In my honest opinion, I think it would do you good if you feel depressed. The process expands your mind, and you will probably feel more concentrated and focused, yet relaxed and apathetic.
rubixcuber
Posts: 7/356
I think this is a big problem in today's society. People who don't have problems with depression think of depression as a state of mind. They think that if people who are depressed just stop being negative, everything will magically get better. People fail to realize that there depression can be a legitimate medical condition which needs treatment and medication just like any other condition. I myself suffer from depression, and it is very hard to deal with people who don't think it's a real condition.
Sinfjotle
Posts: 1368/1697
It's natural. Happens all the time in society. The littlist kid is always picked on, etc... Is it right? No. You'll never be able to change people though.
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Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - World Affairs/Debate - Depression and Mental Illness


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