Misconceptions about mental health: Rant & discussion

[Tessie]

It still is an opinion, I believe. Everyone is entitle to their own opinion and branding it as "just wrong" could be rude, unless their opinion involves something that obviously abuses the forum rule, isn't it?
It wouldn't help having a open minded constructive discussion. What if I just said your opinion isn't an opinion, would it be constructive?

I understand how we word it is one thing, but it's still true that it could go dangerous/make your state go worse at times, depending on the situation. Is it still "not an opinion", just because you have different opinion?

Though you seem to be worried about certain opinions hurting people, this kind of "opinion" could also hurt some people, people like me.

Yuki, just as people are allowed to strongly share an opinion, others are allowed to strongly disagree with it. To blatantly state that you believe health care professionals are dangerous and do more harm, to an open community where some may be impressionable, is in itself a dangerous thing. Especially when this is not the case for medical professionals. It's a generalization. Also, it's not against a forum rule to disagree with someone as well. We should encourage open discussion and sharp contrasting views without someone labeling it as wrong.

 

[John Wick]

Yuki, just as people are allowed to strongly share an opinion, others are allowed to strongly disagree with it. To blatantly state that you believe health care professionals are dangerous and do more harm, to an open community where some may be impressionable, is in itself a dangerous thing. Especially when this is not the case for medical professionals. It's a generalization. Also, it's not against a forum rule to disagree with someone as well. We should encourage open discussion and sharp contrasting views without someone labeling it as wrong.

I can't get into it, but believe me, I was being lenient, if anything, and with (my own) very good reasons.

There isn't a need to attack an opinion here, as it belittles the situation.

I just feel for people who have had a very bad experience, a life changing experience.

So can we respect each others opinions and life experiences, because I'm not here to debate.

 

[SheepMareep]

As a health care professional I feel the need to weigh in on this....

We are NOT dangerous. No one goes into this field, works their butt off for 8+ years to be a doctor or go through the hell that is nursing school, to inflict harm on others. It would make no sense for anyone to put themselves $80,000 in debt just to harm other people. Not every health care provider is nice or knowledgeable about everything. mistakes happen, but in no way shape or form are we, the majority, dangerous by intent.

That being said, going online, especially onto a site full of impressionable minors and older populations who are wary of receiving medical care for their new onset of depression, to make the statement health care is dangerous/will do more harm than good is dangerous in itself. People in their 20's and younger are finding themselves and looking for answers in the world. They may not have support systems irl and turn to online interaction to help find out what to do to fix the depression/anxiety/schizophrenia/etc. that they are experiencing.

Having the idea that health care is dangerous put into their mind increases the likelihood they will go untreated and harm themselves. Minors with suicidal ideation need help. They need someone to turn to. If they feel as though no one, not even a therapist or nurse, is there for them it increases their risk. Elders who are experiencing high levels of loss and a new onset of depression need help and to feel safe with their care providers. Hearing they are dangerous may also influence this group to turn away from health care and suffer in silence. Mental illness gone untreated can lead to further damage to the heart or other organs.

Not everyone will benefit from therapy, or will agree with doctors because we are all different. A lot of us really do benefit and need medical help. To claim otherwise is dangerous and can negatively influence someone who truly needs our help.

Medical professionals being dangerous is not a misconception of mental illness, it is a wrong and harmful opinion.

edit: I am sorry for your negative experiences and wish I could change them. But your claims are dangerous.

 

[John Wick]

edit: I am sorry for your negative experiences and wish I could change them. But your claims are dangerous.

Removed for personal reasons.

I will PM you instead.

 

[RedTropicalPeachyFish]

We should encourage open discussion and sharp contrasting views without someone labeling it as wrong.

Indeed. I do very agree with that.
Well, I feel like there's some small misunderstanding here. I don't think John meant that professionals are dangerous. Actually what he said was dangerous farce if my memory is working right. I read it as dangerous to have sessions with them (at times?) which, in my opinion, is true, depending on the situation.
I wouldn't deny how he word things is sometimes problematic (Sorry John!) but that does't mean the content is wrong.

Like it's been said in some posts earlier, we all are different. There's no certain way that works to everyone, of course. If the person who's in severe health issue or unhelpful situation (e.g. living with not understanding family, etc.) and, if they're taking sessions with someone who's a professional but not the one who's proper to their issue, while the person is taking the sessions too serious, it could make the harm.
I'm not sure if John meant it in general. I'd assumed he was just talking about his experience to contribute to the subject.

In my opinion, thoughts of both parties are true. It's helpful to some, it affects in bad way to some. All depends on each case and the situation there. To make it go the way that's better, having more inputs in variety would help you decide better. That's what I believe.

 

[Mayor Monday]

Post removed.

 

[Dinosaurz]

I’ve had behavioural and social issues my whole life mainly related to my autism I am awful at basically everything lol

It’s also tied into mental health with anxiety

I’m terrible at social cues, take jokes way too far and basically just unlikeable all around I used to think I could change but i can’t actually so don’t bother anymore

 

[michealsmells]

I really wish people would look at ADHD less as "can't sit still disorder." I mean it really sounds like it's called what it's called because its a "burden" to neurotypicals.

I can't imagine not having adhd, especially since I know that I have it now. It's affected probably every single day of my life since I was born. I have trouble letting out my emotions so it usually comes out as anger or tears-- or both. I was treated horribly in school, so I've gained trauma + depression + anxiety that are magnified by my adhd, or maybe the other way around?? And people just act like I should be able to function. I literally have to pump myself up just to get out of the bed in the morning, otherwise I can and will lay there all day, especially on the bad days.

The thing that sucks is that I can be very sociable, hyperactive, and dang smart too. But while people focus on those positives- they're also not entirely positive and I'm forced to suppress them most of the time because its too much for people. So it just becomes a neverending cycle.

Basically, to those without them: people with mental illnesses, or disorders, or both and everything around and in-between, you need to realize that they function differently than you and have different ways of coping, behaving, showing interest, etc. Let them tell you that and let them have those things- if you take them away it causes permanent scarring.

 

[John Wick]

I really wish people would look at ADHD less as "can't sit still disorder." I mean it really sounds like it's called what it's called because its a "burden" to neurotypicals.

I can't imagine not having adhd, especially since I know that I have it now. It's affected probably every single day of my life since I was born. I have trouble letting out my emotions so it usually comes out as anger or tears-- or both. I was treated horribly in school, so I've gained trauma + depression + anxiety that are magnified by my adhd, or maybe the other way around?? And people just act like I should be able to function. I literally have to pump myself up just to get out of the bed in the morning, otherwise I can and will lay there all day, especially on the bad days.

The thing that sucks is that I can be very sociable, hyperactive, and dang smart too. But while people focus on those positives- they're also not entirely positive and I'm forced to suppress them most of the time because its too much for people. So it just becomes a neverending cycle.

Basically, to those without them: people with mental illnesses, or disorders, or both and everything around and in-between, you need to realize that they function differently than you and have different ways of coping, behaving, showing interest, etc. Let them tell you that and let them have those things- if you take them away it causes permanent scarring.

Many years ago, an acquaintance of mine told me he had ADD.

I'd never heard of it, and said "What? Advanced Dungeons & Dragons?" ,

 

[michealsmells]

Many years ago, an acquaintance of mine told me he had ADD.

I'd never heard of it, and said "What? Advanced Dungeons & Dragons?" ,

I want you to know that this is the only valid response to someone saying they have ADD.

 

[pinkbunny]

I've struggled with severe anxiety and depression for a long time, since I was around 11/12 (im turning 20 this year). I've run into soooo many people and situations that were uncomfortable and just..... ugh.
The worst is when people INSIST I should stop taking my meds because "you don't need them! you're fine!"
Or people trivialising anxiety, insisitng that "everyone has a little bit of it" and that I should just "get over it", and basically go on to imply that it's my fault for dwelling on things.
It's also pretty annoying when these SAME PEOPLE also try to claim they also have some form of anxiety, because they get nervous about things everyone gets nervous about.

Idk, I can just find it realllly frustrating when people refuse to believe me when I say that my anxiety disrupts my whole life and stops me from doing things I want to do. And it's expensive to recieve treatment for.

- - - Post Merge - - -

I've struggled with severe anxiety and depression for a long time, since I was around 11/12 (im turning 20 this year). I've run into soooo many people and situations that were uncomfortable and just..... ugh.
The worst is when people INSIST I should stop taking my meds because "you don't need them! you're fine!"
Or people trivialising anxiety, insisitng that "everyone has a little bit of it" and that I should just "get over it", and basically go on to imply that it's my fault for dwelling on things.
It's also pretty annoying when these SAME PEOPLE also try to claim they also have some form of anxiety, because they get nervous about things everyone gets nervous about.

Idk, I can just find it realllly frustrating when people refuse to believe me when I say that my anxiety disrupts my whole life and stops me from doing things I want to do. And it's expensive to recieve treatment for.

 

[Limon]

I've had anxiety since I was middle school, it was especially hard on me during my high school years. I was too nervous to go to class or walk in the hallways. I struggled to stay in school for more than two hours because I wanted to be at home where I felt safe (I have a fear of going outside to this day). As a work around I would spend my hours in the same room doing work near a computer. I even considered dropping out during my senior year, but I managed pulled through and get that piece of paper.

It's been almost two years since I graduated and I can't say I've improved much. Maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit like my therapist says. I don't know?? I'm attending therapy, taking anxiety medication, trying to learn how to cook, clean, etc. Even if I'm afraid of leaving my comfort zone I might as well try to be productive in it, right? I'm still trying to figure things out and I'm not even thinking about college.

 

[Xara]

my father has accused me on several occasions of using my mental illness (depression and anxiety) to get out of things that i don?t want to do. this is highly untrue but in my father?s mind, the only mental illness he believes to exist is the more extreme forms of it (seeing things that aren?t there, restrained in a psychiatric facility, etc) and as my mental illness doesn?t make me ?crazy? as he believes it should, he doesn?t think it exists.

i guess the common misconception he believes is that mental illness makes someone ?psycho?, but since my mental illness only makes what he believes to be simple tasks very hard or almost impossible to do, he thinks it?s all some big scheme i?ve used to get out of responsibilities.

 

[Shawna]

I know this thread has been inactive for a long time, but I've been wanting to say a few things myself.


# 1 - Some people believe what we feel is a choice/something we can control. This is false. If what we felt was a choice, then why are so many people struggling with anxiety and depression problems? I myself struggle with the former to a considerable extent. If it was a choice and/or something we had control over, I don't think mental disorders or negative emotions would be a thing (or at least be a lot less common).

#2 - Some people believe we can just overcome/get over our mental disorder symptoms. This may tie into the one I mentioned above, but I feel like people (particularly neurotypicals, but sometimes even neurodivergent people) think we can just "get over" our symptoms. Ohhhhh, if only it WAS like that...
For example, I have sensory issues and my family expects me to just deal with it when like loud music is playing. Like I said before, this is mostly a misconception by neurotypicals, but even people who have ASD and be like this. Which brings me to my next point...

#3 - Some people believe that everyone deals with a particular disorder in the same way. One of the reasons why mental health conditions and other similar conditions are still misunderstood and overlooked is because a lot of people still do not understand that these conditions can vary from person to person. A shining example of this is Autism Spectrum Disorder. People really underestimate just how big and complex it is. This can cause a person to get invalidated by another person who doesn't have the same struggle they do, and to use excuses like "I have ________, but I don't act that way".

#4 - Some people believe that we have to have trauma to have a mental disorder. Now this may be true for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. And do not get me wrong, it CAN cause certain disorders to develop (e.g. anxiety and depression, etc.) -- my point is that it is not REQUIRED to have certain mental disorders. Oftentimes, anxiety and depression disorders can simply be caused by genetics, a chemical imbalance in the brain, and due to underlying conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, etc.

. . .​

I also want to say that I am somewhere on the Autism Spectrum myself, and have been questioning if I have ADHD and OCD (or some type of other anxiety-related disorder). If I had the power to choose not to not have obsessive thoughts, anxiety, etc., do you actually think I would choose to feel that way? No the **** I would not!

And while there were some distressing events in my life (mostly stemming from ignorance and insensitivity my family and other people have towards my ASD, and possible ADHD and OCD -- and other things about me) that has caused me distress, I would not consider anything bad enough to be considered traumatic.

 

[Neb]

I think one of the things that frustrates me the most about people’s misconceptions of PTSD is that we’re all angry people with explosive tempers. Before and after developing it as a teenager I’m not any angrier. The main difference in mood for me is that I just feel lethargic or on edge all the time. Anger is definitely a common symptom in PTSD, but not all of us have it and the ones that do it can have it treated with therapy. I know other people with PTSD who used to have terrible tempers and now they rarely get angry thanks to the right treatment.