"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you." Rita Mae Brown
I guess I'm that 1 out of the 4? When did that happen?
[Thinking Back]
It was the winter of 2005. Night was my day. My eyes did weep, long nights, little sleep. Blankets over the window, darkness at all times. Restless...Alone...Abandoned. Whenever my eyes closed I had visions, dreams, memories of that night. Why did he? How could he? Why would he? This was my reality for many months.
Some believe that the only people with mental illness are those who are institutionalized. You know, those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder...you know, the ones folks call flat out crazy. Did you know that there are at least 6 different classifications of Mental Illness. There are Personality Disorders, Impulse Control and Addiction Disorders, Eating Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Psychotic Disorders, and Mood Disorders. The latter was my issue, mood disorder. For a long time I suffered from depression.
These disorders, also called affective disorders, involve persistent feelings of sadness or periods of feeling overly happy, or fluctuations from extreme happiness to extreme sadness. The most common mood disorders are depression, mania, and bipolar disorder.
Imagine attending a party with these prominent guests: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Robert Schumann, Ludwig von Beethoven, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Vincent van Gogh, and Georgia O’Keefe. Maybe Schumann and Beethoven are at the dinner table intently discussing the crescendos in their most recent scores, while Twain sits on a couch telling Poe about the plot of his latest novel. O’Keefe and Van Gogh may be talking about their art, while Roosevelt and Lincoln discuss political endeavors. But in fact, these historical figures also had a much more personal common experience: Each of them battled the debilitating illness of depression.
How often have we said, "I feel depressed."?
Let us remember that occasional sadness that everyone feels, that sadness that is often caused by life's dissapointments, is totally different from the brain disorder. In actuality, depression impairs the ability of someone to function in everyday situations. It affects the thoughts, moods, physical well-being, and behaviors. Some may feel it is a feeling of "worthlesness" You feel like you are disconnected from life, and the people in your life. For me, I didn't want to get out of bed. I slept during the day, and would lay awake at night. I didn't want to see anybody, and didn't want anybody to see me. I spent many days, trying to sleep my problems away, and every day I woke up with the same problems and issues. It became a viscous cycle.
Depression strikes about 17 million American adults each year–more than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease–according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). An estimated 15 percent of chronic depression cases end in suicide. Women are twice as likely as men to be affected. Many people simply don’t know what depression is. “A lot of people still believe that depression is a character flaw or caused by bad parenting,” says Mary Rappaport, a spokeswoman for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. She explains that depression cannot be overcome by willpower, but requires medical attention.
Ignorant to the realities of mental illnes, many say, "there's nothing wrong me, I'm just having a bad day." "There's nothing wrong with me, I've just got problems." And how many times have we uttered the words "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired" [Fannie Lou Hammer] Why do we hide our feelings? We hide our pain and sadness. We hide it from the medical professionals who can help us. So this illness goes untreated...it goes unnoticed...it goes mistreated.
End Results: Suicide...Violence
When will we lose the fear, and address the pain? I got help...when will you?
To be continued...
