Mental Health Awareness

[Kaymyth]

21 hours ago, Yvainnie said:

With hallucinations it is difficult to say which is true and which is not true but I find that it do help a lot to just accept it is like this and I am like: "yes this is hallucination, thank you, next" I do not tell anyone but I do not lie if someone asks. Just be bored by hallucinations works. And if you can not say if it is one or not just assume it is and let it happen. Honestly when I read Sanderson Legion I often wondered if he is not schizophrenic, because he cas describe it so well. 

Brandon tends to do a lot of research into any mental health issue he puts into his books. He'll read up on it, talk to people, make sure and have someone on his beta reading team to proof everything he puts in. So yes, you're going to see that he nails the accuracy more often than not.

[Elenion]

If I stay up far past everyone else, sometimes I will hear music that's not playing. I've literally gone to turn off the music in the family room after midnight, and found that it's not playing. If I sit and listen for a minute or two, I can tell that the music is not real, because it'll be playing in a loop, missing a beat, or something like that. But I'll still hear it, and so to go to sleep I'll turn on a fan or something that will drown it out.

[Tesh]

So, I threw out the idea for a hashtag a while ago, and some people latched onto it. I know there are some on here, mostly for art, but I was wondering if anyone was interested in one for this. I honestly don't really mind either way. (If you search the hashtag, wherever it is mentioned will show up in the search results).

Edited May 2, 2018 by Tesh

[moosix]

Elenion, I have that same thing! I thought I was the only one! But for some reason, the song I hear the most is Radioactive by Imagine Dragons....with yours is it music you've heard before? Or is it just random tunes your brain makes up?

[Tesh]

I'm in leadership at my school, and we're in charge of the morning announcements. So I talked the leadership teacher into letting me write some things up about some mental illnesses to put on the announcements. She said she'd also try to set up a spirit day where we all wear green.

[SilverTiger]

This is a good thread. And I must support it.

Reason 1: My sister has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, and she has it bad. She is antisocial- does not get along with any of her classmates, doesn't like to talk to people, that sort of thing. There's other stuff, too, like how she doesn't understand people very well, and can be very...blunt. Her attempts at humor tend to be more insulting than funny. I am the only person that she can really talk to, who will understand her.

Reason 2: When I was in elementary school, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I can get off-topic very easily, and am sometimes hyper. I take medicine to deal with it. Also, after my sister was diagnosed with Asperger's, my parents realized that I show a lot of the symptoms as well: inability to pick up on subtle social cues, obsessive studying of strange topics, and other peculiarities. I have also experienced depression (of the suicidal kind) too, but managed to deal with it.

Thanks for working to bring awareness to the many issues people can face, and some of the worst: the issues within our own minds.

[Walin]

I want to say, I support this thread and such. I don't have any mental health challenges, but my older brother has depression, and has had it for the last two or three years. During this time, I learned a few things about mental illness, and I realized how similar it is to physical health--in that there can be small and huge problems that can persist for a while.

This is a good thread; I want this to stay up near the top of the Recent threads.

[Draginon]

My parents seem to think I have one (autism) just because I don't think exactly like they do (they already think differently from everyone else so that's not saying much). When I've looked the different ones up I always found one or two symptoms that match me but that's not enough to be considered having it, even a minor case, and those tended to be more me being a nerd and an introvert. Heck neither of them even mentioned me having any until I was well into high school and yet they claim they tested me as a kid so you'd think they'd do stuff to 'correct' it. Also one of those 'symptoms' I saw doesn't apply anymore because it was a speech impediment but it turned out not to be the case because I had too much connecting flesh under my tongue that kept the tip from making the th sounds properly. Once I got that fixed I suddenly didn't need speech therapy anymore.

When looking them up I think (this is speculation on my part) my mom has a mild case of Asperger's since she's always making people out as meaner or ruder than they are. I also think she has a mild case of OCD when vacations and work are concerned. When the state testing has to be shipped off she just has to check the numbers a good half a dozen times (this does not include me counting a couple times and the testing coordinator counting), sometimes opening the box back up after taping it shut. I might be misinterpreting it as OCD though so do correct me if I'm wrong.

But sometimes I feel like my parents are trying to do Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, especially my mom, because they'll tell people I have something but when alone they don't exactly treat me like someone with a mental disorder at all. Heck my mom's trying to get exempt from jury duty and is trying to use the 'I have a disabled adult son who can't drive to work alone' card (not only can I drive, I also have my own car) and the other day even suggested, 'jokingly' she said, that I pretend to have Tourette's! My dad even encouraged it! Do you know how insulting that felt?

The only real mental symptom I can say I have is migraines (which my sister also gets) and I don't know if that counts under the definition everyone is using here.

[Tesh]

@Draginon I'm experiencing the opposite problem. I told my parents about the depersonalization, but they didn't think it was a big deal. They just thought it was sleep deprivation. So I haven't talked about it since. I told @Cel about both the depression and depersonalization a few days ago, though. I want to talk to them about it, but I don't think they'll take it seriously. They were more worried about me struggling with my closest friends than the depersonalization. Honestly, the depersonalization is the main cause of the depression, and the signs of anxiety I'm experiencing. 

Sometimes I just feel like I'm exaggerating things, and it's not as bad as I make it out to be. But then I think, and realize, no, this is a problem. But then I think, well, there are people in the world going through things way worse than me, so I should stop complaining about my problems, and try to help the other people get our of theirs, then I realize that's impossible, and it's just this big circle. And that is a strong sign of depression. Then I have a really crazy way of viewing the world, where I can just... Understand life. And I hate it. I just want to be normal for once. I want to be able to care about myself without feeling guilty, to stop being smart, and maybe have more than one person IRL who I actually consider a good friend. I don't know where I'm going with this, so I'm going to stop.

[Gray to]

I think I have Social Anxiety Disorder. I've never been to a doctor to diagnose it, but I've read the accounts of people who do have it, it was so accurate to how I feel. I really want to be a part of social situations but every time an opportunity comes up, I just push everyone away. I spend all my time thinking about how my social life could've been different if I had just changed one thing. I kick myself when i say something that doesn't go over well. Sometimes I want to say something and I repeat it over and over in my head until the conversation' s done. And the worst part is when I actually think I have a good conversation with someone, and then I over think every detail until i realize I'm horrible at social situations and I should just give up trying.

[Podman]

55 minutes ago, Tesh said:

@Draginon I'm experiencing the opposite problem. I told my parents about the depersonalization, but they didn't think it was a big deal. They just thought it was sleep deprivation. So I haven't talked about it since. I told @Cel about both the depression and depersonalization a few days ago, though. I want to talk to them about it, but I don't think they'll take it seriously. They were more worried about me struggling with my closest friends than the depersonalization. Honestly, the depersonalization is the main cause of the depression, and the signs of anxiety I'm experiencing. 

Sometimes I just feel like I'm exaggerating things, and it's not as bad as I make it out to be. But then I think, and realize, no, this is a problem. But then I think, well, there are people in the world going through things way worse than me, so I should stop complaining about my problems, and try to help the other people get our of theirs, then I realize that's impossible, and it's just this big circle. And that is a strong sign of depression. Then I have a really crazy way of viewing the world, where I can just... Understand life. And I hate it. I just want to be normal for once. I want to be able to care about myself without feeling guilty, to stop being smart, and maybe have more than one person IRL who I actually consider a good friend. I don't know where I'm going with this, so I'm going to stop.

Talk to them again. Convince them that it’s serious. If it’s really getting this bad, you should try and get a therapist or a guidance counselor or something.

But definitely make sure that your parents know you’re serious about it. 

[Draginon]

@Tesh you know, sometimes the way my mom goes on about it when she mentions it it feels like she wants to have a disabled child and since she couldn't do that with my sister, she's way more outspoken than me, she settled on it with me. Heck some of the common symptoms could apply but I've had circumstances that led to it. Not being social? I was bullied quite a bit in school which led to having low self-esteem and not being social. 'Obsessed' with stuff? I'm a nerd who's liked that stuff since I was a kid. A 'loner' who doesn't identify with people? I'm just a book reader who identifies with a character better than a celebrity, and I didn't hang with kids my own age a lot so my 'friends' were in movies and books. Smart and weird? My family's weird in general so no surprise there.

I don't really know how to help with your problem since I have a hard enough time trying to explain things to my mom like transgender (I even used the 'how would you feel if everyone kept calling you a man?' argument to no avail) and accepting other races (she uses the various derogatory names for black folks and calls all Asian people oriental and I'm afraid of what she might call my girlfriend if she ever visited since she's middle eastern in decent) in a way that makes sense to her. Trust me when I say some people just don't get concepts like these no matter how much one tries to explain it.

[Gancho Libre]

@Tesh just to be clear there are five types of schizophrenia, each one different. I dunno if you want to clarify that in your OG post.

[Elenion]

On 5/3/2018 at 3:46 PM, moosix said:

Elenion, I have that same thing! I thought I was the only one! But for some reason, the song I hear the most is Radioactive by Imagine Dragons....with yours is it music you've heard before? Or is it just random tunes your brain makes up?

I always hear an existing song, but it's random besides that. It's partial to 80s, though.

[mattig89ch]

*nervously raises hand* I'm officially diagnosed with Dysthymia.  I might also be autistic too, though that ones still up in the air (I think I might be, my family thinks its a defense mechanism from being hurt too many times, my therapist isn't sure one way or the other).  Besides that, I'm taking an herbal anti-depressant (because I don't want to introduce another prescription medication into my life if I can help it) due to my inability to make friends and/or find a romantic partner.

Edit:Also, that description of depression on the front page, is the best I've ever seen.

Edited May 10, 2018 by mattig89ch

[Draginon]

You know a while back I had watched a video about a autistic girl who was kicked off an airplane for becoming hostile because she didn't get fed when it wasn't time for the food to be given out (it was like 20 minutes after departure) and the mom was even proud of the fact her daughter gets hostile when she's not fed fast enough. Some of the comments get a bit on the ridiculous side like 'So hungry kids shouldn't get fed?' 'You saying all mentally handicapped people are dangerous?' to the legit stuff like 'they keep a kid who was screaming for 20 hours on but kick her off?' but seeing the situation from the view of the airline I can see their point if they were told 'we've got a child getting extremely hostile because we aren't bringing their food out fast enough' and if the mom knew her daughter gets that way when she's hungry why didn't she pack some snacks or something to help her daughter cope until the stewardesses brought her something? It's one thing to cope with a mental illness but it's another to do nothing and let the person be uncivilized.

I'm not trying to be negative about this but the way the comments are going is a bit of a double standard since the majority are excusing her behavior because of her illness but if a kid without it behaved the exact same way they'd be calling the kid a hellion or a spoiled brat who was never taught how to behave in public.

[Archer]

9 hours ago, Draginon said:

I'm not trying to be negative about this but the way the comments are going is a bit of a double standard since the majority are excusing her behavior because of her illness but if a kid without it behaved the exact same way they'd be calling the kid a hellion or a spoiled brat who was never taught how to behave in public.

I appreciate your honesty and opinion. But permit me to offer another view on the matter. (Please note that this is in no way a personal attack, merely a stating of my opinion. This is not all in response to you specifically, your comments just got me started thinking about some things.) 

In my opinion, expecting people with mental illnesses, or different mental health, to act the same as you is wrong. Everything is situational. In a different context, someone with a mental illness might be acting so called normal, and you might be the odd one out. For an example, people with autism are more likely to have a better memory. If you were in a situation where your memory was being tested (say in a maze) then you'd be the one who would be judged to be inferior. People would ask, why can't that guy solve a simple maze? It's so annoying that they won't act the same as all the other people who are solving it easily. 

Context matters in other ways too. Take Winston Churchill. A great leader in war time, but once it was over the people voted him out. Why? Because people thrive in different situations. You could be a logical, left-side-of-the-brain kind of person and do really well in math. But in another field, the people with art skills will be considered superior. So context matters,even for those without mental illnesses. 

Now back to the plane idea. If someone is on a plane, acting in a way that I inconveniences dozens of people, are they wrong to be doing so? 

Well, the rules of the plane probably say that you can't be acting out of line. 

They probably have the legal right to act in a manner which expresses themselves, to a point. Depending on the case, they might not even be capable of forming the mens rea of the act to commit a crime. 

Religiously, most people would agree that people are of equal value in the eyes of God, and should be treated with kindness. 

Philosophically, you could say they breach the principles of utilitarianism. But it gets tricky when dealing with natural law.

On that point, where does this kind of thinking lead us? On a small scale, you'd support the reduction of the freedoms of people for the good of society. (John Locke would certainly argue that the government should take away certain freedoms to provide benefit to all the people Eg. Take away the right to kill, and in return you can't be killed). But when you reduce the freedoms of specific people this thinking gets more dangerous. Why do you have the right to apply rules that discriminate against small groups of people who are different from you? Because you're superior? That just brings us back to the context thing. And even if you did have the right to impose your will selectively, where does it stop? People with mental illnesses make plane travel uncomfortable, so you bar them from planes. Then you bar them from social settings because they could annoy you there too. Then you decide to do away with them altogether because they don't provide enough to society. But wait! Old people can be annoying and burdensome too. Why not kill them? And people of different religions cause too much tension... We keep going like this until you get a Holocaust or genocide. 

It's a fine line to tread. A line that seems inconsequential when you're in charge and on top of the social ladder, but when the tables are turned due to context, people tend to have a change of heart. 

So should the person have stifled their outbursts? Maybe. It would be more socially acceptable to do so. However, entering that mindset is a dangerous. I know it may not seem like a big deal, but I'd rather make a stand now than once the bombs start dropping.

TL:DR Context matters, conformity is bad, discrimination is a dangerous mindset. 

[Draginon]

@Archer I do see your point and I'm someone who is about treating people equally (if someone is giving me a bad attitude I don't care what their gender, sex, skin color, faith, etc is, I'll call them out on it. Once there was this one gal who would have me do all her work for her when I went to her campus to help. I had finally had enough of it and threw her words back at her. Since I was higher on the totem pole I could call her out without serious trouble since what she was doing would be if I kept pushing my work onto the superintendent. She was surprised that I could get mean if I wanted since I'm a nice person who doesn't really cuss or complain but when I'm pushed too far I will give it out to show 'don't mess with me' if you get my meaning).

Anyway for a little better context on this situation, it probably wouldn't have made a difference if this was a little girl, like 5 or 6, but this was a teenage girl around 15 who really could've hurt the airline people, or even other passengers, with her tantrum. The mom even said something about not taking her out to restaurants for this very reason, not against keeping 'undesirables' out of the public eye, but when you have a child who acts a certain way in a certain situation you try your best to minimize the damage they do to others not encourage it to the point they get kicked out. The mom knows her daughter gets violent when she's hungry so why not give her a snack or something until she can get the meal the airline would pass out in a short time?

I worked with someone who had a son with mental problems, I don't know what he had, and he would get pretty violent like this girl was. When he got into one of his violent moments he would hurt his dad pretty bad and he nearly got me once when I was listening to some bagpipe music on my phone. The mom, the one who worked at my job, wouldn't do anything to stop his violence and would treat him like a baby having a little tantrum. Sometimes he would act out when in public, but usually it came out in a 'he's being a brat' way. Once when they joined me and my mom at a staycation the mom had burned her hand on a hot plate at the buffet and he kept pestering her to get him more food (he kept doing this thing of loading up the plate, take one bite and discard the plate) while the first aid person was right there treating his mom and he wasn't locked in so he could get out of his seat like he'd been doing before to get more food (also he'd already gone through about a dozen plates by this point). He also got banned from the indoor water park because he tried to attack one of the lifeguards. Also he had joined me for this one game the resort has and he kept trying to break stuff to the point I was afraid of getting in trouble by association if someone from the resort reported him for vandalism (I was probably 25 at this point so I was the responsible adult watching this teen). A few years I had seen him and he had mellowed out from what I could tell since he didn't behave like he did during his 'calm' moments. To really show how terrible he was my mom is pretty lenient to people with mental handicaps but she didn't let this kid get any of that and would actually call him out on it.

[mattig89ch]

If I might be permitted to throw my 2 cents into here.  If your child does have mental health issues with socialization, then I do think you should be teaching them what is and is not ok.  That girl on the flight, she's still learning how to behave.  But a pack mentality can come into play on flights, with nervous people making others nervous.  Leading to an all out panic in an enclosed space.  Thats the reason why you need to remove people like that from a flight.

I get that she was disabled, and that shes still very young.  But you need to ensure your child knows how to behave before taking them on a flight.

Regarding that kid at the resturant, I do feel that the mother should be able to tell her son that its not ok to ask for food from someone, when they're injured.  So far, I haven't heard of anyone who couldn't be taught in some way.  though I have heard of people who needed to bring in a pro to help them teach.

For me, I have similar social symptoms to autism.  Difficulty making friends, difficulty holding a conversations, able to more easily bond with people much older or younger then me then people of my own age.  That said, I don't have any other symptoms.  I don't have a tactile obsession (though I do have some preferences, they aren't strong enough to make me avoid the ones I don't like).  And I don't have any repetitive or ritualistic behaviors.  And I have developed tricks during conversations I'm unfamiliar with, to at least kinda hold my own.

[Just a Lifetime]

Possibly relevant (or at least potentially interesting) is this article I read a few days ago about a recent documentary called A Dangerous Son.  While I have not seen the documentary, the article gives the impression that it tries to explore these and related issues (with an understandable focus on the most extreme cases).

[Tesh]

On 5/7/2018 at 11:05 PM, Podman36 said:

Talk to them again. Convince them that it’s serious. If it’s really getting this bad, you should try and get a therapist or a guidance counselor or something.

But definitely make sure that your parents know you’re serious about it. 

I talked to my mom last night. Very seriously. She didn't take me seriously. I struggle talking to my parents, so there's no way I could talk to someone I don't know at all. I'll have to try my dad. He's much more like me when it comes to stuff more in the area of mental stuff.

[Podman]

Shoot. Sorry, @Tesh! Good luck with your dad. Other than that, I really don’t know. I hope you can figure this all out soon. 

[Tesh]

Just now, Podman36 said:

Shoot. Sorry, @Tesh! Good luck with your dad. Other than that, I really don’t know. I hope you can figure this all out soon. 

Me too. 

And I've started feeling like I'm developing anxiety, and have been for years. 

And I want to help others, but can't find a way! I don't know what to do!

[Podman]

Just now, Tesh said:

Me too. 

And I've started feeling like I'm developing anxiety, and have been for years. 

And I want to help others, but can't find a way! I don't know what to do!

What you’re doing right now is pretty great! Setting up this thread and this idea... at the very least, it’s a step in the right direction. 

If I were you, my first immediate course of action to do right now would be snuggling my birds. At least saying hi to them. Because pets are magic. 

[Tesh]

3 minutes ago, Podman36 said:

What you’re doing right now is pretty great! Setting up this thread and this idea... at the very least, it’s a step in the right direction. 

If I were you, my first immediate course of action to do right now would be snuggling my birds. At least saying hi to them. Because pets are magic. 

 

Thanks. And who cares if it's 11?

I've tried doing stuff with school, but my leadership teacher has just brushed it off. But one in every ten youths are experiencing a mental health problem, and one in every four adults! 

Any ideas, anyone?