Reply #173: oh yes

[kineneb]

It is actually pretty common for family members (and others, as well) to see mental illness as something like the common cold. "Get over it", "Well just pull your self up by the bootstraps", "There is nothing wrong with you that ___ won't fix" or the one that gets teenagers "Its just a phase." Heard it all.

I live with clinical depression, OCD and panic disorder, which I manage as best as I can. I have memory problems from the reoccurring bouts of depression: I am missing bits and pieces that add up to about 10 years of lost memory. I know I will never be "well" and I know that I will never be able to stop taking my medication. I have had people tell me that I don't need to take the meds, that I just "think" I have a problem. Being extremely bright (probably near-genius level) doesn't help; somehow those who doubt my condition think that only idiots have mental illnesses. Every day that I wake up and can function is a blessing to me; there have been many days when all I wanted to do was die so the pain would stop.