do you have a mental illness?

[miagi's_mommy]

I have depression and anxiety.

 

[dave_l]

I have internet addiction.

 

[swampwitch]

 
There are a lot of misconceptions out there about mental or neurological illnesses.  Things have gotten better but many people do still have misconceptions.  The way I understand autism it runs the gamut from very mild to very severe.  I have never heard of lack of empathy being part of autism.  I have heard that the main issue with autism is ability to communicate with and interact with other people and their environment.  People who have severe autism are completely uncommunicative at least in a way that most people can understand.

Schizophrenia has been really misunderstood, most people believe that all schizophrenics are capable of violence when it is actually only a small percentage.  That being said when I run into a homeless person who is delusional I am very guarded and get away as soon as possible.  If the person is schizophrenic I have no way of knowing if the person is part of the majority or the small minority.  The person could also be on drugs or brain damaged from long term drug use.  My reaction to someone doing that with a delusional person I don't know could be seen as a misconception when it's actually what I believe to be necessary to be safe.

The only people I have heard of as completely lacking empathy are psychopaths and antisocial personalities.  There is a division in the mental health community if it is even a mental illness or not.  If it is a mental illness it is one that nothing can be done to treat.  That is why the mental health community doesn't allow the diagnoses to be given to anyone under 18 because of the hopelessness of it.  People under 18 are labeled as having an attachment disorder rather than antisocial.

 Well said! I'd like to add that empathy is learned at elementary school age, which is another reason diagnoses can't be done early. After that, it's usually too late to develop it. Adults who lack empathy learn to fit into the world by imitating what other people do. 

 

[mwallace056]

 

 Well said! I'd like to add that empathy is learned at elementary school age, which is another reason diagnoses can't be done early. After that, it's usually too late to develop it. Adults who lack empathy learn to fit into the world by imitating what other people do. 

i disagree about empathy being learned. i believe that we are born with empathy, also there are studies that shows that empathy and compassion don't need to be thought, it just need to be work on. i myself haven't been thought empathy and i am the most empathetic of anyone i know. esp when it comes to children and cats.

 

[Willowy]

I think the problem with the perceived lack of empathy in non-neurotypical people is that we teach children to "treat others the way you want to be treated". This doesn't work if the way you'd like to be treated isn't "normal".

For instance, if I walk into a room with a lot of other people, I'd prefer to be left alone until I feel ready to interact with everyone. Being welcomed/greeted would make me feel self-conscious and anxious. But most neurotypical people would feel unwelcome if nobody greeted them. So if we (people who are not NT) treated them the way we wanted to be treated, they'd feel we were treating them badly. So we need to learn "treat others the way you think they want to be treated" instead. BUT this means we're guessing at how they would like to be treated, which obviously has the potential to end very badly :/.

 

[mwallace056]

I think the problem with the perceived lack of empathy in non-neurotypical people is that we teach children to "treat others the way you want to be treated". This doesn't work if the way you'd like to be treated isn't "normal".

For instance, if I walk into a room with a lot of other people, I'd prefer to be left alone until I feel ready to interact with everyone. Being welcomed/greeted would make me feel self-conscious and anxious. But most neurotypical people would feel unwelcome if nobody greeted them. So if we (people who are not NT) treated them the way we wanted to be treated, they'd feel we were treating them badly. So we need to learn "treat others the way you think they want to be treated" instead. BUT this means we're guessing at how they would like to be treated, which obviously has the potential to end very badly :/.

i am the same way, i don't don't like people coming up to me and start talking. but it depends who it is, where i am at, and who else there.

 

[storm winter]

I have anxiety crossed with depression I also have a mild intellectual disability

 

[ravynwriter]

I agree with the 'autism doesn't really count as mental illness' but I am a diagnosed Aspie as well.

I also have PTSD and depression, though my depression is a side effect of a genetic disorder that gives me chronic pain. You hurt all the time, for decades, eventually you get depressed, that's just how it happens.

 

[stillstending]

 
I've never been diagnosed, but I know I've fought depression off and on. When I watched my Chrissy get hit by that car that never stopped, it profoundly affected my life. I often have flashbacks and start crying, or have dreams about it and wake up crying. I actually lost control of my bladder when I saw what I saw, and I can definitely say it was the most terrible moment of my life. It comes back to life in a flash if I let it, and it's hard to force it out of my mind. I can say it IS better after two years, but I have a feeling that it is something that will be with me for the rest of my life. Animals DO help with ANY illness, be it physical or mental, their unconditional and nonjudgmental love is healing and soothing to anyone in more ways then one.

I've been battling with depression and anxiety for 6 years, and I agree and disagree with this. We have 2 dogs of our own at home, plus 2 foster dogs right now. I love all of em, but having so many can really stress me out  which doesn't help me at ALL. When I limit it to just being around one at a time, it's so much better, and it really does help. I think you just have to know how much you can handle for them to help instead of hurt.

 

[cats4sky]

battled with depression and anxiety since my 20's. After years of going back and forth with different psychiatrists who wanted to over medicate me on anti-psychotics i finally found a good doctor. Finally diagnosed with major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. I only need 2 meds which help me manage greatly. i also practice gratitude on a daily basis and try to look at the positive in things instead of the negative. I take vitamins too, read alot of self help books. Ive gotten alot better at managing it, for a while i was really bad. you just have to realize that meds help but you also have to work on things yourself too. For a while i would try and get off my meds but then i realized that yes i'm one of those people that actually do need them. heart goes out to all of you suffering from mental illness, stay strong and positive!