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Mental Illness (Brain Diseases) in the News

06 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by A Journey With You in bipolar, caregivers, mental illness, schizophrenia, stigma, Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

alcoholism, bipolar, celebrities, Kate Spade, news, racism, romanticizing, schizophrenia], stigma, suicide

Over the past two weeks, the public learned of three celebrities who are, or were, living with bipolar disorder, and rather than the media using this as the perfect time to educate people about mental illness, the cause of it, the symptoms of it, the available treatment options, many people fell back on stigma.
Many people questioned how Kate Spade could be so selfish as to take her life when she would be leaving behind a daughter, and I read a lot of misunderstanding about her “having everything.” These statements assume that Kate Spade was in her “right mind.”
Depression is not only the thief of joy it is a liar. Depression tells many people that their loved ones would be better off without them. Depression is more than just a feeling that a jog, trip to the spa, or a lunch with friends, can help someone overcome. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain. It is not weakness, just like schizophrenia, it is a brain disease.
I heard a report that Kate had been self-medicating with alcohol for some years and that she didn’t feel like she could get help because of the impact that attention would have on her brand. That is the stigma, and it costs us the lives of people. The tragedy that ended Kate’s life might have been different if we were more educated, accepting, and open about the realities of mental illness.
On the other end of this, is Kayne West admitting that at 39 he received the diagnosis of bipolar disorder and that bipolar disorder is his superpower. I don’t know the details of Kayne’s illness, but I do know what romanticizing mental illness is and what it sounds like and that is what Kayne is doing. Having received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in my twenties, the first thing I did was to read about all the “creative geniuses” who have and had it.
I thought that my creativity was a symptom of bipolar disorder. All these years later, and with a diagnosis of schizophrenia now, I don’t believe my creativity comes from my illness. I think I would have been far more successful in this life if I didn’t have to manage and deal with a brain disease – it impacts me every day, and it is disruptive and hinders me from my full potential.
Then there was Rosanne Barr and her racist tweet. I am sorry that Roseanne Barr has bipolar disorder, I am sorry for every single person, famous, or homeless (it doesn’t matter) who has to deal with the consequences of a brain disease, but Rosanne made mental illness look like a character flaw. Being bipolar doesn’t excuse racism, and it doesn’t create it either. Bipolar disorder can hinder impulse control, cause disordered thinking, cause delusions or strange beliefs, but a diagnosis doesn’t automatically mean you will be a racist – that has to do with character and personality and isn’t a symptom I have heard of regarding any mental illness.
I don’t know everything about mental illness, statistics and my experience are all I have to form conclusions. I do know that when mental illness is in the news this much that the media rarely helps us out with educational and stigma-busting information.

 

Twenty Years With A Mental Illness: Have Things Changed?

20 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by A Journey With You in hope, mental illness, schizophrenia, writing

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

awareness, bipolar, blogs, celebrities, depression, discrimination, homeless, hope, inspiration, mental health, mental illness, mentally ill, progress, schizoaffective, schizophrenia, stigma, Treatment, writing

I was first diagnosed with a mental illness in the early 90’s. At first my diagnosis was depression, then bipolar disorder, and then schizoaffective disorder and eventually paranoid schizophrenia. I think my final diagnosis was given to me in 2006 or 2007. But I have been living with a mental illness for over 20 years.

I’m an old timer. I’m old school. I’ve seen a thing or two and I am happy to report progress. There are certain aspects of being mentally ill that I would give an A to right now, and others I would give an F.

I know I frequently write about discrimination, stigma, need for more treatment (especially accessible treatment), homelessness, and the mentally ill in prison. All of the things I just listed are real, and they are very pressing and important issues, and I would give most of these areas a D or F if I were grading them.

I said I would give an A to some progress we have made about mental illness though, and that A would go to awareness. We have come so far in mental health awareness over the past 20 years.

When I was first diagnosed, there were therapy and group therapy and there was the organization NAMI. Those were really my only choices beyond my medication for talking about and learning about my mental illness. Now there are more organizations providing education and trying to raise awareness than I can count. There are new organizations springing up all the time and many of these organizations are set up around telling people stories about the lives of those living with a mental illness.

There are also huge sites like Psych Central, Psychology Today, and others, devoted to getting information out there about all the different mental illnesses.

There are online support groups. There is online therapy. There are more celebrities than ever coming out with their stories of addiction, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression (I still don’t see too much about schizophrenia) and there are more movies, books and television shows being created with characters who are struggling with one or more of these illnesses.  And now there are blogs – thousands of online journals where people can read what it is like to have a mental illness from people who are actually living with one.

When I was first diagnosed, friends of mine who were doctors, told me not to tell anyone about my diagnosis. They thought people would judge me, and reject me. I only came out publicly with my diagnosis 9 months ago – the young psychiatrist that encouraged me to come out must have known the world had changed while I was in hiding. Well, I flung open the curtains and showed the world what it is like to have paranoid schizophrenia, and I have to admit, the world for the most part has been kind, compassionate, and accepting. I give us an A for progress in that area and although that’s not everything, I think it is something we can all celebrate.

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