a great article =)

This is an issue that I don't think the public realize just how common it is everyone knows someone that has some form of deppresion but don't know it for sure because most people feel embarressed and tend to hide this. I have a friend who has bipolar but was only diganosed 5 years ago but I always new even when we were in high school that she had some form of depression but not much was know about it or rather ignored in the late 70's. She however is very open about her bipolar and we discuss and bring things out in the open which is good sign for her that she is willing to share her experience. I am very proud of her and admire her strength. I saw her yesterday and I could see she wasn't happy so I said straight out tell me what's been happening and it only took her a few minuites to open up. She kept saying I'm sure you didn't come her to hear all this but I said I am here to listen so talk about it as much as you like. After a coffee and cake and 2 hours later it was good to see her smile occassionaly, but certainly will be checking in with her over the next few days to see how she is going.

This is so true children need to be educated about this my friend has bipolar and was only digagnosed 5 years ago she has had this since we were in highschool and is now 44 but I always new there was sometthing different about here because she would go from being really happy to totally depressed and I never new how to help her. Now that she has been diagnosed she has to take medication and will let me know if she doesn't seem quiet right and will often say some times I may act a little different but I know you will understand. I am not saying I always no the right things to say but I am there for her. Great article I think it is a liitle more out in the open then 30 years ago but  there is still along way to go.

 Well done Angie.  Great article.  I have bipolar disorder and most of my friends don't know.  I don't them to change how they behave around me, or see them looking at me through different eyes.  The reason I feel that way, is that when I was first mentally ill and reached out to my family (and hubby's) for support - to help out with the kids so I could try and get back on track, I suddenly turned into a hot potato.  It was as if I had metamorphised right before their eyes into someone who could be potentially be problematic or needy.

I can't blame them for how they feel, I believe that it is because they have been ingrained to see mental illness as something to be feared or a taboo.  It takes people out of their comfort zone, and they begin to treat you with kid gloves.  This isn't what anyone wants as part of a healthy relationship with family and friends.  

I have 4 kiddies under 8 (and an amazing, supportive husband) and whilst I don't go into particulars with them, they know that mummy sometimes isn't well and has to stay in hospital, that sometimes I get very sad for no reason and other times I have abundent energy and a thirst for fun.  They also know that I take medicine to help me and go see a "talking" doctor.  Above all, they know that I am a person and not a label for a disorder, who loves them completely.

If people would see mental illness as the medical condition it is  and remove the social stigma, more people would be upfront, get help when they need it, and save precious lives and the lives of people around them.

Lots of love for writing this story :)

Bec

I am raising three foster teenagers. The youngest has a parent with mental illness and the middle one has a reactive attachment disorder. All of my children have social problems. I am glad you have written about the stigma of this issue as we have had to deal with the alienation, the horrible backstabbing and the cruelty towards our children because it can't be phisycally seen. I have even had to ask teachers if they would make someone get out of a wheelchair to play sport; they instantly reply no, and yet they look with bewilderment when I ask then why do they try to make my child do something he is not capable of doing or understanding because of his illness. It is frustrating and yes more people do need to know about these issues. Our Scout group is renowned for having an understanding of children of all walks of life and as so we have children come from a wide variety of areas to be in our group. We now cater for children with various levels of mental illness right through to downs syndrome. It has been beautiful watching the children without issues learn and become protective and understanding of those who have issues.

hi my name is roberta i suffer from heritary bipolar disorder it's diagnosed my sister too my brother but he isnt diagnosed he's a drug addict i involve my children when i'm taking my medication which we all call happy pills and mum needs them and always will as the chemical imbalane i have got is not going to go away i see traits of my affliction in all my children so i am here for them i tell them why they are so upset i encourage them not to be angry but to reckonise when they are none of my children are on medicaion my own personal opinion is that if they learn to deal with their anger they are half way there i dont tolerate violence i have lived it for to long. i am winning the fight my childrens lives are so much more psyclogically better than mine far from perfect but so much better i look forward to the progress of my childrens children  

Hi Angie, I have a son he is 14 and he goes to a special school only because he has social problems and he really needed more help with hes schooling, it took me a long time to send him to that school, becaus e didnt want him to have a stigma, but yr right us parents need to teach our children to take people the way they r, no one is the same and there is a lot of people out there with problems they hide away.  My father suffers from many sorts of phobias, i grew up with him and the issues he had and everyone thought he was crazy in a way, but now days its more known and people seem to understand more so hopefully as years go on people may understand more about mental illness, and hopefully give some compation to those that need it,  there  is no one perfect person in this world!   Good Luck. karen xxxxxxxxxx

i have been suffering PND and i really loved this article.....fantastic..more ppl need to read.....

na xxxx

 a great article ,  well put togther 

Brilliant article.

When I accidently fell pregnant with my son we actually considered terminating the pregnancy due to the severity of the mental illnesses I suffer. My main diagnosis is DID - dissociative identity disorder. I also suffer from severe depression, social phobia, and anxiety to name a few.

These illnesses definitely make motherhood more of a challenge and we often talk about how much to tell our son when he is old enough to understand. We don't want him to have to deal with the stigma of having a mentally ill mother.

If we can end the stigma this will never be an issue for him.

I don't know how I missed this article Angie.....

It is a GREAT articel, as per usual....

and

Thank you for addressing this problem so well...

Lavinia

I had/have PND and it's amazing the stigma out there about that!  I can't believe the number of mother's who won't go & get help because they are scared their kids will be taken away from them.

Excellent article. 

I am glad that you wrote this piece. I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder at the age of 18 but was sure i had the illness from a younger age. Over the years i was re-diagnosed as having severe anxiety/depression.

Thanks to my strong will and help from my family and friends i am able to deal with this without the use of medication now! It's wonderful to take hold of my life for a change!

My daughter (7) is having a few troubles of her own too. We are in the middle of having her tested for A.D.D and other things. She has to have all the hearing and sight tests done to rule out other problems.

We are working very closely with her teachers at school and she is seeing a counciller who is helping us out too!

All i hope is that the stigma will wear off one day! We are all different and that is what i teach my daughter! Es...x

1 in 5 people at some point in their lives will suffer from a mental illness.

on avarage, 5 people commit suicide everyday in Australia.

If anyone is going to ostracize someone for having a mental illness, they had better be prepared to challenge me - yep, I've got one too.

I remember telling my dad I had depression when I was 15 (after atemtped self harm) and he cried. I relise that he had no idea but blamed himself for doing something wrong. Its never any one persons fault it just happens and we all need to learn to live with and around it.

Great advice, made me think about the above and glad I had support. Your son will and probably is glad of your support.

Yeah there is alot of stigma attached to mental illness. I have a 14 daughter with a dual diagnosis of autism and psychosis. She is has been on the receiving end of many a bullying session at school and the scorn of people in general when she in the middle of a down time. It is hard enough for her to deal with these conditions as it is without people putting in the boots while she is down.

That is what led my wife Natalie and i to start our own forum to share these experiences with other parents in the same situation. It is hard being the parent of a daughter going through this but we also know that we havent got it nearly as bad as our daughter who struggles with this every minute of her life.