I had known a couple of people in college who went off the rails, who had significant bouts with mental illness.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Mental illness leaves a huge legacy, not just for the person suffering it but for those around them.
Mental illness can happen to anybody. You can be a dustman, a politician, a Tesco worker... anyone. It could be your dad, your brother or your aunt.
A lot of people are living with mental illness around them. Either you love one or you are one.
I was diagnosed with everything from schizophrenia to multiple personality disorder.
I want to break down some of the stigma associated with mental illness.
I think one thing is that anybody who's had to contend with mental illness - whether it's depression, bipolar illness or severe anxiety, whatever - actually has a fair amount of resilience in the sense that they've had to deal with suffering already, personal suffering.
When I taught writing classes to psychiatric patients, I met people whose stories of manic highs and immobilizing lows appeared to be textbook descriptions of classic bipolar disorder. I met other patients who had been diagnosed with myriad disorders. No doctor seemed to agree about what they actually suffered from.
I had some experience in dealing with people who have mental illness and depression, but I didn't see the signs in myself. I couldn't ask for help because I didn't know I needed help.
People get really irritated by mental illness.
I was never in a mental institution for a long time. I was in psych wards.