AIBU to be upset by cruel comments about serious mental illness on MN?

[Itsnotgirlinterrupted]

Just read a post on another thread.

Two posters were commenting that "X is probably on antipsychotics" should be in a straitjacket and that they hoped that X was forced to have ECT five times a week (another poster said she would report them).

Why do people do this? Why are MH problems only acceptable if it's anxiety and depression and you are being treated in the community?

ECT is horrible. MH units are horrible. I've put on 4 stone with antipychotics.

But that's apparently fair game.

I'd stay away from AIBU, the racism and disablisim there is out of control lately.

I agree with you OP that despite efforts to alter people's attitude to Mental illness very little has actually changed.

On MN I often find it upsetting the way an OP is encouraged to treat someone with diagnosed Mental illness with a lack of empathy or concern that they would never suggest treating someone with a physical illness. There is this feeling that a lot of pp think people suffering from Mental illness are to blame for their condition or are charlatans.

I think it’s ok for someone to draw boundaries with someone with mental illness or to avoid them for their own wellbeing. I have family with issues like bp, schizophrenia etc. it’s a lot to handle. But yeah cruelty is completely unwarranted.

As someone who has been treated for anxiety and depression but has family with much worse problems personally I think the shift when we talk about mental health to a focus on more “minor” illnesses does a disservice to those who suffer from very real very intractable mental illness problems. Tbh I don’t get it, if you’ve seen a schizophrenic or someone with bi-polar disorder off their meds you really don’t feel your anxiety is a mental illness as such (I was medicated and therapied) it doesn’t even touch the sides of how hard life can be with serious disorders.

Very few people have completely untreatable anxiety or depression that will never be resolved (they do exist and I’m talking about being able to manage a job, life etc) but for some reason it dominates discussions about wellbeing. If I am being completely honest it’s because if you have a permanent problem you are written off (I think) as basically “mad” (I don’t say that to be unkind, I think that may be the perception). People don’t understand the reality of it because they rarely actually see what severe mental illness (the type that gets you committed or heavily drugged) looks like.

I think we're seeing a rise in rage bait posting, it guarantees engagement and some people have nothing else to do. I'd be very surprised if they actually think those things.

Report each time and maybe the posters will get the message about whats appropriate and whats not. Ive not seen the posts you refer to on this occasion.

If you left off the last two words of your post it would be even more accurate!

I find it upsetting when posters joke about dementia. It is a terminal disease and always kills in the end. It robs everything from a person. So many posters think it is a joke to suggest tricking a MIL ( it is always a MIL) into thinking she has dementia. I do report but MN does not always remove. So many posters are vile about old age. I think it is unbelievably cruel to wish a terminal illness on someone for a laugh. There was a self congratulatory boast on a thread yesterday saying how nice women are. I find it hard to agree when I read the nastiness spouted by some posters.

Basically this!

Very true.

Completely agree, @Itsnotgirlinterrupted . Absolutely obssesive positive regard on MN for conditions like anxiety, depression, autism, adhd, but a very widespread lack of compassion and understanding for the very serious and distressing (and common!) condition of psychosis.

Loads of for you. I hope that you are getting the support you need with the nasty side-effects of anti-psychotics. Is there any chance of switching to another one that might be less awful for you?

Thanks everyone.

Yes to the positive regard to anxiety and depression but not SMI, exactly!

@MyThreeWords thank you for your kind words. I've actually switched to lurasidone and that's working the best ever has for me in terms of psychosis.

Reported but no action from @MNHQ