to half hope bipolar goes the same way as homosexuality?

[Mitchy1nge]

when homosexuality came out of the DSM

Ah mitchy I understand somewhat now. Yes I can imagine if you didn't want a diagnosis and was quite happy without one then it would be difficult and perhaps upsetting for someone to practically shove a label on you like that.

Whereas I knew something was wrong and desperately needed that label to receive the help I needed.

Grays I have never said it should not be classified as a mental illness as I believe it is. I was just posting in contrast to your good experience I have had a bit of a nightmare with discrimination so it does happen

Ah yes I know sorry ral I was just using your example to reiterate my point

Best thing is my sister is violent she assaulted her ex by thawing him down the stairs and she assaulted me a few times too. Ex was a peace protestor so did not even fight back

Not thawing throwing

"Cheapening it by comparing it to OCD"

Yes, as OCD is so lightweight

I think rather than declassifying bipolar as a mental illness, which will NEVER happen, we need to change peoples' attitude towards MH.

I was first Dx in 2003 and I think there has been a massive change in how bipolar is viewed in the last 11 years. Big change for the better. However more needs to be done.

My late mother had bipolar and used it as an excuse to abuse me. She totally over identified with the label and told everyone; much to my embarrassment.

I've had a hypo manic ephisode that resulted in my hospitalisation in my early twenties. However, it was triggered by a very abusive relationship and I do feel that it may have been pros traumatic stress disorder or borderline personality disorder; both are abuse triggered.

My mum was abused so I do feel that mental illness has much to do with nurture as well as nature.

I take citralopram but I refuse to take lithium; mum's thyroid packed up . She had it taken out and I don't think it's a complete coincidence that she contracted cancer of the throat and died a few years later .

Did she smoke ciggies superstar? Throat cancer is normally due to smoking.

superstar my ex had BP and assaulted me so I called police and he got arrested and charged. He then tried to use the defence the violence was due to BP which it was not. He was quite stable with his BP when he did it.

It really pisses me off when people use BP as an excuse for abusive behaviour as it is not an excuse. It also tarnishes the reputation of the majority of BP sufferers who are non violent and non abusive.

Addiction is recognised within mental illness though raither.

If you were 't seeking a diagnosis op what led to it being diagnosed?

Its the stigma attached to mental illness that needs to change-not what is defined as mental illness.

Addiction IS a mental illness.

As I was the first person to bring up OCD I presume the cheapening comment was directed at me.

I can't find the poster who wrote it but seriously, whoever you are, fuck you. OCD yeah that's a walk in the fucking park, a joke thing which helps me keep the flat clean.

I had terrible compulsive thoughts about harming people I loved in specific and ghastly ways. I had daily panic attacks that I might do this. I had absurd routines to prevent me from doing it. I didn't know I had a mental illness and I thought that I was a monster. It dominated three years of my life.

It is comparable to bipolar because both are mental illnesses and bothhave social components as well as medical ones. Thatwas all i was saying. There is no cheapening. No one wins through top trumps.

dreadful idea

Can we just decide which is the best illness/condition once and for all before we continue?

She never touched cigarettes.

maddening I was hospitalised, actually don't remember much about it or the circumstances leading up to it, and then a few more times

I have to say that it does sometimes astonish me that we allow only the dull and analytical to think themselves sane and be the arbiters of sanity/those who define the 'real' world. To me scientists are the least able to define humanity, emotions and behaviour.

A lot of scientists have actually got MH problems, I speak of this anecdotally of course but this is interesting www.medicaldaily.com/scientists-find-truth-mad-scientist-stereotype-there-link-between-genius-and-insanity-240684

Tiggy excellent idea!

what a fascinating article

is the kind of thing my consultant used to bang on about and it always reminded me of the pharmacist trying to convince me that headlice preferred clean hair every time I went back in despair with my reinfested children

Its weird though because that is defining periods of no creativity. . then creativity as bipolar then saying people who have periods of creativity then periods withput creativity are more likely to have bipolar. Its just a description of behaviours that don't fit 9-5 office 'flatline' behaviours.

I 'get' what you are saying and I agree to some extent. The classic joke for psychiatry used to be 'how do you cure schizophrenia? By crossing the Atlantic'! Meaning that British psychiatrists had a different checklist to American and therefore mental illness is subjective rather than a 'fact'.

The only difference I would make is that people with bipolar can/may experience relief from symptoms if medicated or coping strategies - being active, relaxation techniques, etc. depending on individual experience of those symptoms.

Homosexuality is not made different by any of these because it is not a 'condition' to be treated in the first place.

That said, I wish we would accept psychological and mental illness as a part of life and not stigmatise and be afraid of it.