How has your family reacted to your mental illness?

[toptramp]

About 10 years ago I was hospitalised aftre having a break down; a probable result of domestic abuse.
My sister told me that I needed to pull myself togather, stop feeling sorry for myself and that my parents were happy until I came along. She still hardly talks to me this day and the irony is that she's a psychiatrist.
My parents found it hard to take anything I said seriously for years after my hospitalisation and got my degree.
I did get support but I am sad that it was tinged with this behaviour. My late mum had bipolar and I thought they would have all been a bit more understanding as a result.

She wasn't a psychiatrist back them btw; she was a medical student.

I know what you mean when people see you depressed they automatically assume you are weak it really isn't on but this is the norm. I have experienced this myself.

A good GP will inform you it isn't your fault any more than a cold and it is due to the neurons not firing correctly.

How are you now on the domestic abuse do you feel you have it largely behind you? Abuse can haunt a person for some time?

I get the comment 'why can't you just put it behind you' and 'was it really that bad'

Erm yes it was that bad as I suffered broken bones and hospitalised to name a few things

Now I just don't speak about it.

I put it down to lack of understanding and try not to take it personally.

toptramp - sorry to hear that your family are like that. If it helps, my father told me that "no one said life was supposed to be fun, it's shit. Get on with it." Then they pulled up the drawbridge and ignored me until I was better. They didn't tell any of the rest of the family about it, and anything I do now that doesn't fit in with them is down to me being a bit of a nutter.

Ironically again here, both my parents are mental health workers.

It is crap to be treated like this, but after a lot of counselling I'm coming round to the point of view that you can't change 'em. Just keep it in mind and don't expect anything or rely on them.

My family pretend that I'm normal. (HA!)
They won't talk about the fact that I'm on anti-d's for life, the black hole that is depression, the suicidal thoughts or even the self harming.

It's like they don't want to acknowledge it exists. Then again, it took them years to accept that Toad(Ds) has autism.

My mother came out with the chestnut "But what do I tell people?"