You can’t see it, and yet those of us who live with it know that it can touch every single aspect of our lives.
It can be difficult to diagnose; it won’t show up on an x-ray or during a physical examination.
Treating it can involve a lot of guesswork, trial and error – a process that can leave those who suffer from it questioning their symptoms, sanity and self worth.
It’s not easy to recognize, diagnose or treat, but it is very, very real.
Mental illness affects as many as 26% of American adults each year, or over 57 million people.
The term “mental illness” can be used to describe a variety of disorders, including:
- Mood Disorders – Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymic Disorder, Bipolar Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Anxiety Disorders – Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Phobia, Agoraphobia
- Eating Disorders
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism
- Personality Disorders – Antisocial Personality Disorder, Avoidant Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder
Mental illness can be confusing and downright frightening for people who live with it as well as their loved ones. It can be isolating and the social stigma attached to certain disorders can prevent people from getting the treatment and support they deserve.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
This month, our goal in shining the Aiming Low spotlight on mental illness is simple:
- To let those who suffer know that they are not alone.
- To show you that it is possible to live a happy, healthy life with mental illness.
We hope you’ll join is sharing your stories and supporting others who share theirs.
If you suspect that you or someone you know may suffer from a mental illness, take some time to read a little more about mental illness and the brain. It may be helpful to understand that your brain, just like your lungs or legs, is a body part that can function or dysfunction through no fault of your own.
About Aiming Low Does Good
SO GLAD you are spotlighting this for March. I’m so tired of hearing my kids “don’t look” autistic, you know? Like, what does that look like? What does OCD look like? What does ADHD look like? Just because you don’t SEE it in my kids, doesn’t mean they don’t deal with it every day and aren’t challenged by it.
We are happy and healthy and live it every day. And we’re never, ever bored. And we like it that way.
Twitter Name: thedgoddess
Thank you so very, very much for this spotlight. As the mother of children with mood and mental disorders (Princess has depression/anxiety and mild Aspergers, Hoss has a form of bipoloar disorder and major ADHD and Little Joe has not yet been diagnosed but shows signs of OCD, anxeity and/or Aspergers) and a depression/anxiety patient I have looked an mental illness from every angle possible. A wonderful site for stories and perspective is Real Mental (www.realmental.org). Full disclosure- I am one of the periodic contibutors to the site, but very far from being one of the most talented. Some of these stories will blow you way.
I was at a point a few months ago that I’d had so many visits to the pediatric ER to take one of my children for a psych consult that the nurses recognized me on sight. I blame myself every day for every problem my children have, since so much is genetic and no one on my husband’s side of the family has been diagnosed with anything related to the mood disorders my children face.
Sorry for the long comment, but I just wanted to really express my appreciation for Aiming Low highlighting this cause for March.
Twitter Name: MamaKaren
This is a great spotlight.
My depression began as postpartum depression PPD 2 years ago. I never got better (well I did, then relapsed) and here I am, without the PP in front of the D. I also have GAD.
To this day the intrusive thoughts rule my life and the anxiety is paralyzing.
Twitter Name: lotsospermies
Thank you! Thank you! About a year ago, I started blogging. My primary goal was and is to spread awareness about Bipolar Disorder but it has also become a story of my life. It is so hard to just deal with a mental illness every day of your life, but when you add to it the lack of knowledge from others and the stigma that is created by the ignorance, it can make things that much more difficult. Hopefully we can share with others that mental illness isn’t all that rare and just because your wife, husband, friend, child, co-worker, or neighbor has one doesn’t mean they are going to attack others like a mad dog.
I would also like to encourage anyone who has a hard time understanding illness you can’t see to visit this wonderful website and read about “The Spoon Theory”: http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory-written-by-christine-miserandino/
Have you seen the PSA with Glenn Close about mental illness? The one at Grand Central Station, and a bunch of the people have shirts that say things like “depression”, “PTSD”, “schizophrenia”, “bipolar” and the people with them have shirts that say “mom”, “sister”, “battle buddy”, “husband” and that sort of thing. It’s all about raising awarenss and removing stigma. I cried the first time I saw it.
Twitter Name: MamaKaren
No, I haven’t, but now I am going to be Googling for it!
I’ve seen it and I cried when I saw it too.
Twitter Name: Msbatman
I have suffered from depression near my entire life. With a fun filled year of anxiety and panic attacks thrown in for good measure. After I had my first child the PPD just did NOT go away and in time it was seemingly linked to my period. When I realized severe PMS was eating 3 weeks of every month I went for help.
I have been on some form of anti-depressants for the past 17 years. I have good days and I have bad. I am not ashamed and freely admit this. If more people spoke openly and honestly about mental illness more people would feel comfortable seeking help. And perhaps my brother would not have committed suicide 20 years ago.
Great post.
I am so glad this post has encouraged others. If we could be loving and sympathetic to everyone in need we might be able to help them heal.
Twitter Name: Anissa Mayhew
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 4 years ago this May. To this day, some of my family refuse to acknowledge it or accept it because they can’t accept they have a family member who is ‘crazy’.
This isn’t something I chose. It’s something that is wrong with me. And if telling my story helps one other person, I will tell it and tell it and tell it again.
Thank you for this. It’s time the stigma goes away.
Twitter Name: Msbatman
Just throwing my support behind this coming series. Depression runs in my mother’s side of the family, but I didn’t know that until I was 30 years old and in a depressive episode so severe that I no longer wanted to go on. Thanks to my father’s intervention (and spilling the beans about my hush-hush family medical history), I got to a doctor, got treated, and got confirmation: it WASN’T my fault, I had a medical condition, and the fact that the exact causes are unknown did not make that illness less real. While I was very closed-mouthed about my depression for at least a year after that, I eventually became very vocal about it when I recognized the symptoms in a friend and convinced her to get help. Now I will talk about it to anyone, in the hopes that it might help someone else suffering in silence realize there IS help, they are NOT “crazy,” and they have nothing to be ashamed of.
Call mental illness a brain disease and you get support. If mentally ill, you get shunned. So fucked up. And watching Charlie Sheen spiral is a life I’ve seen all too closely. Not saying it’s not funny, I laughed a lot — thru the tears — when I locked up someone I love in the psych ER to save her life. But in the end, so not funny.
Twitter Name: returntoworkmom
A subject close to my heart as my son suffers greatly from mental illness. He’s stable. For now.
Twitter Name: juliaroberts1