Saturday, December 28, 2013

Mental Illness

Mental Illness

Happy 6 years sober to my beloved husband! Quite a feat and well worth celebrating! We baked him a mint cake! Hope it was good.

I have another happy surprise! I saw a friend tonight that I haven't seen in over a year. She saw my daughter at the market and gave her a ride home. It was so lovely to see her and it made my heart glad with the blessing of her smiling face!
Missed you Sandy glad you're back!

Okay so tonight's topic is.... dude! You guys I am really not this interesting! Lol

My daughter bought me for Christmas a film called, “Girl Interrupted.” One of my favorites to be certain. Now if you've seen the movie it is about a girl put in an institution for mental illness. In the movie she has, “Borderline Personality Disorder,” while her best friend there is a sociopath. I wanted to address this term actually, “sociopath.” because people throw it around so lightly.

According to statistics 3.6% of adults in the US are sociopaths, meaning that they suffer from an anti-social disorder of one form or another. A high ratio of which are in prison. Why? Because to be an actual sociopath you are normally setting fires or being cruel to animals. That is not to say that all sociopaths display this behavior, but that is a good indicator. It isn't kool to be a sociopath and more than likely it isn't fun.

So Angel you will ask, why are you going there? It's because I don't feel the stigma attached to mental disability is fair or true. I also don't think it's right to carelessly glamorize it when gossiping about someone you don't like.

If you have been diagnosed with a mental disorder more than likely after the denial wears off your first plan of action is to hide it because you are embarrassed. But let me ask you here how that is helpful? If you found out you had cancer would you be ashamed of that too? There is about as much shame in having a mental illness as there is in having a head cold.

Most people who are diagnosing themselves out there are doing so because they are ashamed, afraid or very worried that it might be something much worse. With this I can identify as I did it to myself for years. I was thoroughly convinced that I was a schizophrenic as I would, “lose time.” it worried me greatly and so even when I did seek help I never asked a doctor. This thought haunted me for years and nearly broke me in two. I was so embarrassed at what I might have that it took me years of torture to find out what I did have.

I have a simple, “cognitive disorder,” which means basically that I can't multi-task.
There is no good reason to drive yourself crazy over whether or not you're crazy. It is so much easier to go to the doctor, find out and then decide on treatment.

That's my side of it,
Angel

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