Reflection and Analysis

More Than One Shape to Mental Illness (3/19/2021)

Today I wish to discuss mental illness. I wish to discuss mental illness because of a problem I've seen crop up recently that needs to be addressed. Specifically, what I have to say involves an individual coming out regarding their mental illness.

- Do I believe the person when they say that they have mental illness? Yes.
- Do I believe this person to be a liar? Yes.
- Do I feel this person was brave for coming out and telling their story. No.

I wish to make it clear that I will not be naming the person in question, though in this same regard there is a chance given how public of a figure they are that individuals may be able to guess who this individual happens to be. The importance of who they are is simply in that their coming out has made me decide its time to voice my concerns regarding a certain trend I've seen and how we're expected to believe people when they tell us that they have mental illness.

In fact, what specifically drew me to discussing this topic wasn't the person actually coming out regarding their mental illness, but others with mental illness voicing concerns that not believing said person who as I've noted happens to be such a public figure means that they, someone who isn't as public will in fact be less likely to be believed when they ask for help.

Except, take a look at my answers for the first two questions I put forth in that I answered yes to both of them. While I do believe that this person is a liar, I do not disbelieve them when they say they have a mental illness. There's a definite difference between the two, but the reason I answered yes to the second question comes down to the fact there is actual proof that some of the things they said when they came out were in fact lies.

Which in turn brings me to why I said no to the second question, in that I honestly believe this kind of coming out actually hurts those with mental illness, both the individual coming out but other individuals with mental illness as well.

In regard to the individual coming out, on the positive side said person realizes they have a problem, but on the other side said person doesn't actually understand their problem. In fact, I'd argue the lies this person tells is actually proof of how severe their illness is, not to mention the fact this person isn't actually getting the help they need, even though they may think they are. In fact, I suspect they think their personal solution to their mental health issue is a healthy one when in reality it's not.

That's just one reason I bring this up, but the other is because there is the fact there are individuals who will answer the first question that I answered yes to with a no because they know full well that there are individuals who will lie yet knowing this I still have to answer a hard yes given the fact that's one way mental illness shows it's ugly face. This doesn't change the kind of damage the individual is causing towards those with mental illness publicly.

However, what is it that I am specifically talking about?

I'm talking about how we've placed mental illness into a box, expecting it to manifest the exact same way for everybody. More specifically, I'm talking about how the focus when we discuss mental illness we typically talk about depression. Yes, in talking about depression we do in fact talk about those who are bipolar, but we only really discuss the depressed state someone with bipolar goes through and not any of the mania episodes.

Sure, the fact we're now talking more about mental illness is wonderful, but let's face the fact the reason we're talking more about mental illness is tied to the fact we're now talking more about suicide and how to prevent this. As such we're talking more about, as I said, the depression side of mental illness yet not enough about self-perception and narcissism.