Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, Schizophrenia, etc.
(17 previous messages)Hobbes
- Oct 5, 2003 5:58 pm (#18 of 1104)
I don't know much about mental illness as I have not really personally experienced it within my family and I think one needs to experience it in such close quarters to have somewhat of an understanding.
I did hear the other day that physicians are just realizing bipolarity starts at a young age. A lot of children who suffer from it are being misdiagnosed with ADHD and given incorrect treatment.
We are all mentally ill to some degree though.
- Oct 5, 2003 5:59 pm (#19 of 1104)
One of the difficulties of dealing with mental illness is the problem of diagnosis. The major mental illnesses (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) share a number of charateristics. I was quite interested to learn that in the recent past a person displaying a certain set of symptoms was much more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia if they lived in the US and with BP if they lived in the UK.
Bill Russell
- Oct 5, 2003 5:59 pm (#20 of 1104)
I good friend now has severe depression. She constantly asks my wife and I to pray for her. She is a devout Christian. I worry about her constantly, but don't know how to help. She is taking medications, but says they do not help.
Depression is horrible and I feel very sorry for anyone who is afflicted that way.
Depression is becoming more and more common, btw.
- Oct 5, 2003 6:00 pm (#21 of 1104)
We are all mentally ill to some degree though.
Why do you think that? I'm not sure I understand what you mean by it.
Sukey
- Oct 5, 2003 6:00 pm (#22 of 1104)
Esme, I don't want to encourage the hypochondriacal diagnoses of psychoanalysis, but I think many people have some form of mental illness and don't realise it, or think that no one else has it, and try to repress it as much as possible, which can lead to further problems. Chronic depression is only one of those illnesses - have you seen As Good As It Gets?
Yes, Aleph I have seen it, and I enjoyed it. You are getting at something here that I want to talk about. In this era when people think of Prozac as a "happy pill", the more serious forms of mental illness seem to be percieved as something that everyone experiences at some time or other, and I don't believe this to be true. Rather that bring about a greater understanding of mental illness, the Prozac phenomenon has resulted in a certain degree of trivialization and made for more, rather than less confusion.
- Oct 5, 2003 6:02 pm (#23 of 1104)
I agree with you, Esme. For a start, there's a difference between reactive depression - the sadness one experiences after a loss or a trauma, and depression which is not "caused" by anything other than the
depressive illness itself.
Sukey
- Oct 5, 2003 6:03 pm (#24 of 1104)
Bill - I'm really sorry. Cancer and heart attacks often trigger depression. I don't know much about the interaction between cancer treatments and severe depression, but considering how brutal many of these treatments are on the body, it doesn't surprise me.
Hobbes
- Oct 5, 2003 6:05 pm (#25 of 1104)
Why do you think that? I'm not sure I understand what you mean by it.
I mean our minds get sick. We all go through "funks" and periods of malaise. I do not mean to compare these temporary illnesses with those who suffer from chronic mental illness. I am merely saying that mental health needs to be nurtured and cared for.
Sukey
- Oct 5, 2003 6:05 pm (#26 of 1104)
Bill - does your friend have anyone to talk to who also has depression? Sometimes that can help. And no matter what kind of illness a person has, a hug always helps. I'm sure it helps that she know you care.
Bill Russell
- Oct 5, 2003 6:06 pm (#27 of 1104)
"it doesn't surprise me."
PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and can cause many mental problems. Many of our homeless are victims. 'Nam vets are an example.
Sukey
- Oct 5, 2003 6:08 pm (#28 of 1104)
Hobbes - You are getting to the heart of it. A "funk" is not mental illness. A "funk" is a pretty normal mental state.
- Oct 5, 2003 6:09 pm (#29 of 1104)
Hah! You beat me to it, Esme, and said it much more succinctly than the long mess of verbiage I'd just typed.
Sukey
- Oct 5, 2003 6:10 pm (#30 of 1104)
Edited by Oct 5, 2003 6:11 pm
Bill - The streets of my town are traveled by many schizophrenic homeless. Many of these were dumped out onto the streets when the state closed its mental hospitals (which were not a great place to be either). No provision for their care was made. No one takes responsibility for them.
Bill Russell
- Oct 5, 2003 6:12 pm (#31 of 1104)
Edited by Oct 5, 2003 6:17 pm
"No provision for their care was made. No one takes responsibility for them."
Yep! It happened all over the USA. I saw lots of them around the White House, when I worked for the Secret Service.
Of course the people inside the WH weren't exactly mentally competent either.
A more open attitude about some mental illnesses is a double-edged sword. With less of a stigma, people are more willing to talk to each other and to their doctor about things. But I think some people are quick to self-diagnose and the drug companies are only too happy to feed off of that. I think what results is an over-prescription of things like Ritalin and Prozac that tends to trivialize the very real disorder.
- Oct 5, 2003 6:13 pm (#33 of 1104)
Is there no supported accommodation available?
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Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, Schizophrenia, etc.