i recently visited Ms. Peculiar's blog and was saddened and angered at the same time. it seems ther ewas a shooting in her town by a man who had schizophrenia who'd been off his meds for a long time. now the man had no priors, only a speeding ticket, but other than that, nothing. he went on a rampage and shot and killed two police officers, plus some innocent bystanders.
OK. granted, the man was schizophrenic, but i believe had he kept on his meds, he probably wouldnt have hurt a fly. so that was a sad ending for him and a senseless tragedy for those who were killed.
well, i'mma about to cut loose on the stigma from IGNORANT ASSED PEOPLE that is always attached to mentally ill individuals....
1) Contrary to what you have seen portrayed on TV and in movies, not ALL mentally ill people are raving, screaming lunatics waiting to kill people. most of us are REGULAR people just like everybody else.
2) Of course, if a mentally ill person stops taking his/her meds, YES, negative consequences CAN follow, but ONLY if that person has stopped their meds.
3) Mental illness is a DISEASE just like hypertension and diabetes, and like the two physical diseases, it CAN be controlled thru medication.
4) There is no need to 'back away slowly' or give a condescending look to a person with a mental illness -- WE WILL NOT HURT YOU OK?
5) If you people who have NO CLUE as to what our respective illnesses are -- NEWS FLASH! -
either go online and do a search about said illnesses, or perhaps go to a library and do some research so that you will gain better insight. after all READING IS FUNDAMENTAL, dammit!
6) Dont pass judgement on those of us mentally ill individuals who happen to articulate words well, dress well and take care of ourselves by saying asinine stupid shit like, "wow. you dont look like anything is wrong"....again NEWS FLASH -- we may be dressed nicely on the outside, but can be still struggling our own inner anguish on the inside, and we may be reluctant to share this with you simply because YOU will have some bullshit remark to spew from your ignorance.
7) We are not "playing the system" with our illnesses. some of the ignoramuses of the world have said to me, "well, how are you gonna live on a once-a-month check?" "cant you find a part time job or something?" and the whopper...."are you EVER gonna get well?" here's my response...
a) i do the best i can do on a once-a-month check...so mind your own damn business!
b) yeah i could find a part-time job, but unfortunately when filling out applications where they ask, "do you have any mental/physical limitations in which you cannot perform the job?"
i tend to not want to share that with a potential employer. to know they've hired a loony would probably be bad for business, so that's a resounding HELL NO.
c) am i ever gonna get well...hm...ARE YOU EVER GONNA TAKE THE TIME TO FUCKING FIND OUT ABOUT WHY I'M "NOT WELL?" yeah, i will proably have my good and bad days, but goddam it dont make me feel that i'm some lazy piece of shit sitting back and collecting a check every month, because guess what.....IT COULD VERY WELL BE YOU!!!!
*ahem* i feel better now. if anyone is feelin' what i've posted, leave a comment. peace.
5 comments:
I definately feel it. I was looked at as a psycho for years after being diagnosed.....as if I could pop and hurt someone at any moment. Now, ten years later I am being asked....when will you feel better? when will you want company? when, when....and I feel exactly the same way. If you want so much information, please go do a little reading.
Ive also been annoyed by realtives who think because Im not always in balance that I am on the wrong meds. "Maybe you shouldnt take your antidepressant." Doesnt matter how many times I tell them that I feel like that is my lifeline.
I think my favorite is this one: "Well they make meds for ADHD and thats a chemical imbalance, they should have something to snap you out bipolar." Ugh, the ignorance.
I know exactly how you feel. How do you hold this person responsible? There needs to be someone responsible for at least reporting to a doctor if they are not doing well. I thank God that I have family watching over me.
PREACH IT SISTA!!!
I am SO TIRED of the same things. So many people are SO igorant and they do not want to change/educate themselves.
My example?: People confusing my schizophrenia for multiple personality disorder. Hello people!! They are TWO DIFFERENT ILLNESSES!!!!
O.k., I feel better now. Thanks for giving me space to vent. Hehe.
thanks Princess, Gigglez and James! i appreciate the feedback!
I think I'm right in saying that mentally ill people statistically are much more often VICTIMS of violence rather than perpetrators.
Thanks for the post,
B
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