Will symptoms of mental illness ever be socially acceptable?

[Jackfruitburger]

So from my first experiences of working in mental health I know that some service users say 'I'm hearing voices but they're ok, I'm not listening to them today.' Will we ever get to this point where people could be open about 'non violent/destructive' mental illness without judgement? Could I ever start a conversation by saying 'I have some schizo tendencies' or that I have a personality disorder in the same way that we're now accepting of those with Tourette's?

I do hope that they become socially acceptable one day. I'm not ashamed of my past when it comes to talking about mental illness.

I feel at the moment there's mental illness that society says is ok and then not ok. Would be nice if all were viewed as ok.

I would love to think so but I don't think it will happen soon. The conversation about mental health illness has come a long way but still has some way to go.

I think if people were to speak openly about their mental health they could open themselves to discrimination. In the workplace this can be disastrous and result in poverty.

My DD early 20's has a mental illness and is very open about it. I know she gets labelled and people gossip about her. It worries me that people view her as unstable and in a small town news travels fast.

She has made a lot of effort to speak about her illness to break down barriers. She posts things online when she is on a high and sadly it reflects badly on her.

I am proud of what she's doing but I'm also very scared for her. I wish things were different. She is opening up the conversation and people then open up to her about their mental health.

Mood disorders don't bring out the best in people and things can get erratic. I don't think people are ready for the reality yet but I would love to live in a world when mental health illness is just like any other illness. I remain hopeful but think it will take a while.

Lake I'm very sorry that people gossip about your daughter, it's a very similar type of place where I live and it sucks. I hope against hope that one day, yes, it will be socially acceptable to suffer from mental illness and exhibit non threatening symptoms. Currently there are thousands of people isolated from society because they can't stand the stigma.

Thanks for your kind words Mad. LOL at your name. You don't sound mad to me.