I think people don't understand how bad mental health can get

[affirmatice]

Let's say hypothetically (although this has definitely happened in real life before), someone committed suicide because they were in constant, unbearable physical pain due to something (illness, accident, etc.)

Most people would probably be more understanding, and see why someone could be driven to suicide under those circumstances.

Yet when it comes to mental health, most people don't understand just because they can't see it or relate to it. Everyone can understand physical pain because we've all felt physical pain before. A lot of people cannot understand mental pain because they have never really felt it before, or because they have some stints with depression and think that is rock bottom.

There's different levels to this just like there is different levels to physical pain. There's I'm depressed, I don't have as much energy, and I sleep more than I should. And there's feeling utterly hopeless, mind is dissociating, can't sleep at all, and the only way out I see is suicide.

 

[NearlyIrrelevantCake]

So, so true.

 

[dust-in-the-wind]

I'm about as bad as you can get with major depressive disorder. I am mostly bedridden with no will to live. Every second of every day is mental torture. No one understands or gets it.

 

[vitbar]

Sometimes people who've experienced some depression are more clueless than people who haven't. Leads them to think it's as easy to "get over" for you as it was for them.

 

[EternalShore]

I'm about as bad as you can get with major depressive disorder. I am mostly bedridden with no will to live. Every second of every day is mental torture. No one understands or gets it.

That sounds awful~ >_< I hope and pray it could get better for you for as long as you remain here~ :(

 

[Jeebo5021]

I so agree. Or people think the solution is simple. They are like, get out there and meet people, as if that solves anything. When your in constant mental pain, every single thing you do is so damn difficult.

 

[CatLvr]

Sometimes people who've experienced some depression are more clueless than people who haven't. Leads them to think it's as easy to "get over" for you as it was for them.

I agree. I find a lot of people will say "Yeah, I was depressed when my dog died, but I got better in a couple of weeks." Well, you weren't depressed then -- you were grieving. It's not even remotely the same. It's like comparing standing in a sprinkler in the summer with standing in a torrential downpour in the dead of winter. Not even remotely the same.

And you are right, it leads them to think a truly depressed person is malingering. I try to be understanding, but sometimes it is REALLY hard.

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

The increased messaging everywhere surrounding mental health inadvertently has bred more ignorance around the topic, in my opinion. An off day, week, or any lingering negative emotion one can't immediately bounce back from is now seen as a sign of illness and it's muddied the waters of what constitutes a mental illness in the public eye.

When the definition of, being depressed, for example, now tends to steer more towards a vague idea of a negative emotional state in colloquial vernacular, it's not surprising that there is so much misunderstanding towards the prolonged condition that we know as depression. The watering down of such language to make it more pallatable and relatable for a broader audience I think makes a lot of people lose touch with what a severe case of mental suffering looks like.

That's not to say that going through a rough patch isn't difficult and doesn't deserve support. It's just a different issue entirely being conflated with something that can persist for years, or a lifetime, and may not respond to any interventions. In the past, a lot of people who suffered from severe neurological and psychiatric conditions would be sent to asylums and hidden away from the world.

Now that such practices are rightfully outlawed, a lot of people who are suffering mentally are confined to their homes instead and don't receive a whole lot of support, it's just a modern day version of that old pit of sight, out of mind mentality. There's a conscious effort to showcase the more mild versions of mental illness to the world, by various organisations, because it is motivational and improves morale. Once again, neglecting to recognize that some people have been suffering for years with absolutely no acknowledgement.

This means that few people really get first-hand experience with the severe cases, or receive any education about them, unless you are unlucky enough to witness it firsthand. One of my grandparents had schizophrenia caused by a brain tumor (that was not diagnosed for decades) and my entire childhood was being subjected to the consequences of that, as well as my aunt who was diagnosed as bipolar but likely had BPD. I had PTSD since I was in primary school.

In the media, I often see mental illnesses being depicted as temporary episodes of anxiety or sadness that always fade away, but firsthand experience taught me that reality can be far more sinister. And until you see it for yourself, it's so hard for people to even conceptualise what that is like.

Even though I've had PTSD for almost 20 years of my life at this point, and it will never go away, I've still been called lazy, selfish, unwilling to do the work, a child, entitled, and almost anything you can think of because I am still traumatized and won't ever really get over the things that happened to me. To a lot of people, it's a joke.

This community understands it in a way that no one in my real life ever has.

 

[swankysoup]

Yeah i'm not telling any normies about my mental health again, cuz i know what i'll hear back

 

[lilah]

lot of people cannot understand mental pain because they have never really felt it before, or because they have some stints with depression and think that is rock bottom.

i'm convinced that people like this are a bit sociopathic.

i remember talking to someone about the case of a girl who was held captive tied isolated tortured raped during the FIRST 6 years of her life and ended up commiting murder in her teen years.

the person i was talking to about this argued that the girl deserved the death sentence and that she was a horrible human and a monster. I was arguing that the girl - from 0 years old to 6 years old was tortured in an inhuman way held tied in a disgusting dark room, starved etc and that it was normal that she ended up commiting crimes. but the person i was talking to couldn't understand that. He couldn't understand that someone is not a monster if they committed murder as a teen as a result of being tortured during the FIRST six years of their life.

some people have 0 empathy. none. they're functioning sociopaths with a mask of kindness completely unable to actually empathise with others. you don't need to have experienced the worst in order to be able to put yourself into the shoes of someone who has.

 

[littleadonis]

You know what it is? Not only can they not empathise with how painful a mental illness can truly be, but they assume that a mental illness can be "fixed". That all you need to do is "get help" and go to "therapy". They don't understand that psychology as a study is still in its infancy and that psychologists don't comprehensively understand mental health issues, what causes them, and how to effectively treat them. They don't see that nuance. All they see is a problem that can be fixed and "for some reason", the sufferer just hasn't had it fixed yet. They don't understand that the cures don't yet even exist.

 

[Roadrunner]

In all fairness to people that haven't suffered from a mental health disorder , I honestly doubt I'd understand how it much pain the mind can feel if I wasn't going through it myself.

 

[divinemistress36]

So true. When I had bad pain and was in bed for years from it. People were more understanding of it . With depression and ptsd its assumed you just have to take the right antidepressant and you will be fine. Fmris show that mental illness literally shrinks parts of brain responsible for cognition and emotional regulation its not something someone can just think positively out of

 

[affirmatice]

In all fairness to people that haven't suffered from a mental health disorder , I honestly doubt I'd understand how it much pain the mind can feel if I wasn't going through it myself.

Of course, it's one of those things that you truly cant understand unless you've experienced it.

You can try to imagine it, you can try to put yourself in their shoes. But until you actually feel it, and feel how it affects every part of your life, feel how it is to live with such painful feelings. It's just not possible.

Sometimes people who've experienced some depression are more clueless than people who haven't. Leads them to think it's as easy to "get over" for you as it was for them.

Exactly. Again, it's because it's just not easy to see or understand the pain or the hopelessness.

It's not too different than someone who broke a bone, and got it healed. Saying "oh, I was in pain before but I'm feeling better now, just have to go to the doctors and be patient". Telling that to someone who has a chronic arthritis and every movement is painful with little hope of improvement.

 

[LittleJem]

Just want to add my agreement. How can anyone know what this is…All day everyday suicidal agitation.

I was reading on Reddit one woman with chronic pain after being hit by a truck. Her 'friend' told her she needed to think more positive and do more yoga….It's not just us….But it definitely is us.

Someone did ask me the other day to explain and also if I was in physical pain.

I don't know how to explain this torture of mental illness. I am just living it.

 

[Unleashtherain]

It seems so many people here are "treatment resistant" which simply means, the treatment for anything mental health related is not that great. It also has wreaked havoc on my physical health. Furthermore, the "professionals" act like it's the patients fault for not getting better. In my case today, I was punished because my anxiety is so out of hand that I vomit constantly after they removed the one thing that at least helped my anxiety since nothing else helps my other disorders. I had left over pills and took them. Fuck these so called professionals. Messing up our brains more.

 

[affirmatice]

It seems so many people here are "treatment resistant" which simply means, the treatment for anything mental health related is not that great. It also has wreaked havoc on my physical health. Furthermore, the "professionals" act like it's the patients fault for not getting better. In my case today, I was punished because my anxiety is so out of hand that I vomit constantly after they removed the one thing that at least helped my anxiety since nothing else helps my other disorders. I had left over pills and took them. Fuck these so called professionals. Messing up our brains more.

Treatment can only solve so much. Better in some cases than others

I'm not against it, and I'm currently in treatment. But it can't solve everything unfortunately

 

[MatrixPrisoner]

I honestly think most people don't understand because most people are just plain too fcking stupid. Just look at what society values these days. We are miserable because we get it. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[Unleashtherain]

Treatment can only solve so much. Better in some cases than others

I'm not against it, and I'm currently in treatment. But it can't solve everything unfortunately

I'm still in treatment as well but the medications have just caused so many issues and have crippled me in ao many ways. I simply don't respond to medications. To the ones that do? Great, but there seems to help quite a few people here who are suffering immensely after following "protocols". I was much better off living my life prior to medications. I was never normal, but I also never thought about ending it all in the past.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I think it's because they have no way to justify why somebody with a terminal illness should live if they are going to die anyway but, in the case of mental health, suicide preventionists argue that every person with mental health issues are incapable of making their own decisions as wanting to die is apparently irrational. They can't ever understand suicide or mental health as they see it as an irrational case and whilst that may be true in some cases, it definitely isn't true in all cases. Some people with depression do have the mental cognition to be rational. It's futile to try and convince them that though because, for as long as they believe that seeing life in a negative way is irrational, they can't be reasoned with on this matter.

 

[graveface]

An off day, week, or any lingering negative emotion one can't immediately bounce back from is now seen as a sign of illness and it's muddied the waters of what constitutes a mental illness in the public eye.

Hard agree. Nowadays it's all too common for someone who is very organized to say "I'm so OCD," without understanding at all what obsessive-compulsive disorder is. Or someone whose circumstances change from sad to happy, says "I'm so bipolar" with no comprehension of bipolar disorder and how it can wreck someone. Terminology for diagnoses and symptoms get thrown around by layfolx in a way that muddies the water.

So here's a question. Is this better than the days when such terms were virtually unknown? Is this widespread use (albeit misuse) of terms a step in the right direction? What do people think should happen around this?

 

[CTB Dream]

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