Anyone Here Mentally Ill?

Bump...I'm at work, but want to see more of this when I get home this evening.

it's that societies and individual lives don't become better because our species becomes kinder, wiser, and gentler, it's all about technology.

Sad but true!

Generalized anxiety disorder, it eats my life, woooo

Me too. My anxiety is often all-consuming. People tend to think I'm 'just a worrier' or tell me to 'think positive!'. I wish it was that simple and easy.

Same here. It seems to control my life as well. In fact, my boyfriend knows I don't like to drive on the interstate but only in certain places. In my county I'm fine, an hour to Indianapolis I am fine but north to Chicago I absolutley freak. Yesterday he was driving and I got very sick in the car, I was fine again when we were back in the county on the highway. It's crazy how physically ill anxiety can make me. It's especially bad when I get anxious about something coming up that is supposed to be fun, like looking forward to a night out with friends, but I tend to get so worked up I get unnecessary BAD anxiety.

Why are you still drawing the parallel between infections, tumours, and the brain ?
The brain is the most complex organ, and today the science doesn' even now what determines mental illness

We don't know the mechanism of action of MANY drugs that are highly effective, either...but what works, works. We don't understand the disease process behind all kinds of illnesses, and yet we have developed effective remedies.

I'm sorry you've had bad experiences with medication. Hopefully you'll find another way to improve your quality of life. Please don't express your own limited experience as blanket truth for everyone else, though.

I'm just saying I totally disagree on putting on the same level breast cancer and mental illness...

I have depression. I have only recently be diagnosed after a suicidal attempt back in Nov. I was very against anti-depressants until this happened, but my life has been hell the past 2 yrs. I am currently going through a divorce with an ex who was abusive, cheated, and is incarcerated for a sex crime (long crime). It is a known fact that traumatic events in your life can throw off your brain chemistry having people do things they normally wouldn't (like me becoming suicidal knowing I have 2 babies to support). I will say my diet/exercise helps my mood big time, but I also need professional help. There is nothing wrong with asking for help, period!!!

You are absolutely right. Your body is very adaptive and can upregulate and down regulate the expression of different genes based on all kinds of stimuli, particularly stress. That can certainly affect your brain chemistry or pretty much anything else going on in your body. It's kind of amazing to think about, but also frustrating to deal with.

I can't imagine all that you've been through. Congrats on struggling through it all. I know several people here are happy to have you around!

Breast cancer is a tumor, mental illness not

If you want to believe that your problems are too complicated and "special" to have any humanly imaginable solution, that is completely up to you. For the millions of patients that are benefiting from medication on a daily basis, I will apologize on your behalf for insulting their attempts to better their lives.

:flowerforyou:

Yes, sure, now the condescending tone. I surely felt so special when I had the arm open, trying to put an end to that

I'm just saying I totally disagree on putting on the same level breast cancer and mental illness...

And I'm just saying that you haven't presenting any compelling evidence or arguments to give weight to your "opinion"

Certainly, I won't see an oncologist to treat my depression...but I never said they were the same. I only said that the brain is an organ like any other, and it can become diseased. Many diseases of the brain respond to medication. It is, as I've stated, possible to suffer from bouts of depression and anxiety with no physiological cause. If that is the case, medication will probably not be helpful for you.

I have borderline, manic depression, generalized anxiety disorder and bulemia. It's awful and a contributing factor to my weight gain for sure. There are days when I dont want to move and I would rather binge and purge then go to the gym or eat healthy. I need friends to help on the weight loss journey and its hard to find them.

When I was at my worst, I let my symptoms drive people away. Now I try to remind myself that I have to be brave and put good energy out there to get good energy back. That's especially hard when you're struggling with psychiatric issues, but it really makes a HUGE difference. Kudos to you for reaching out!

I have depression. It makes diet very, very difficult. I feel you.

Breast cancer is a tumor, mental illness not

If you want to believe that your problems are too complicated and "special" to have any humanly imaginable solution, that is completely up to you. For the millions of patients that are benefiting from medication on a daily basis, I will apologize on your behalf for insulting their attempts to better their lives.

:flowerforyou:

Yes, sure, now the condescending tone. I surely felt so special when I had the arm open, trying to put an end to that

I believe people are getting defensive and "condescending" because of your belittling attitude towards those with differing viewpoints.

I'm pretty sure I'm depressed. I mean I've never been diagnosed with it, but I generally feel pretty unhappy with my life in general. I can generally put on a happy face and go out life but when anything bad happens it consumes me and makes it difficult to sleep, work, or enjoy anything.

I'm just saying I totally disagree on putting on the same level breast cancer and mental illness...

And I'm just saying that you haven't presenting any compelling evidence or arguments to give weight to your "opinion"

Certainly, I won't see an oncologist to treat my depression...but I never said they were the same. I only said that the brain is an organ like any other, and it can become diseased. Many diseases of the brain respond to medication. It is, as I've stated, possible to suffer from bouts of depression and anxiety with no physiological cause. If that is the case, medication will probably not be helpful for you.

I used to see it as a disease in fact. The only materials that came out that were only self-reducing and self-destructing ones. The first thing you hold (as far as I remember, my mental *illness* started when I was 3 years old) is guiltiness, rage and self-hatress. As years go, the only viable solution you see for yourself is suicide. Medication stabilize the mood, that last as a transporter for the way you see yourself and consider Life. It took me 23 years to cease to look for any manifesto being able to kil me... in fact, living in the denial, or looking for self-annihilation. I now see it as some kind of *energy* - which needs to be channeled one way or another, that's it

I'm just saying I totally disagree on putting on the same level breast cancer and mental illness...

And I'm just saying that you haven't presenting any compelling evidence or arguments to give weight to your "opinion"

Certainly, I won't see an oncologist to treat my depression...but I never said they were the same. I only said that the brain is an organ like any other, and it can become diseased. Many diseases of the brain respond to medication. It is, as I've stated, possible to suffer from bouts of depression and anxiety with no physiological cause. If that is the case, medication will probably not be helpful for you.

I guess what he (and I) have a problem accepting, is the idea that mental illness is something that cannot be cured. But I think cancer is an excellent analogy. They haven't given up finding a cure for cancer...I think there is a cure for mental illness. I consider myself to be in "remission" from mental illness. The possibility of it flaring up again is still there, but I don't have a need for medicine. And my life is extremely balanced (if that's not an oxymoron :ohwell: ).

I too suffer from depression, anxiety and chronic insomnia, which exacerbates everything. I have good days and bad days, but when I can't sleep for long periods of time, things start to fall apart and I slip back into bad habits. I started doing that a couple of weeks ago - drinking too much again, eating whatever I wanted and generally not caring...which makes me feel better at the time, but it's a vicious circle...however, I KNOW that when I'm eating healthy and exercising - while I still won't get proper sleep, I do feel better.

In my mind, the whole 'getting healthy' thing is 50% physical and 50% mental - because for me, the two go hand in hand and when one thing starts to suffer, the other thing goes along with it.