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Calmblueocean
Senior Contributor

Stigma

Hi all. I just wanted to share this with you all because it is relevant to living with a mental illness. When i was first diagnosed back in 1999 i was very ill and didn't really know what was happening to me.I was in a facility and didn't know where i was or what i was doing there. Anyway i stayed for about three months with a diagnosis of schizo affective disorder.  My family for some unknown reason told me i had bipolar disorder.  So for many years i thought i had  bipolar disorder   telling doctors i had that diagnosis and thinking i had that diagnosis myself. I later moved to a different state and was told i had schizo affective disorder with PTSD. My medication changed for the better and i started to live with my illness an awful lot better. My mother now is quite elderly and the skeletons are really coming out of the closet. I have found out that many of my relatives have had severe mental illnesses mostly under the umbrella of schizophrenia. My mother told me herself only a month ago that originally i had schizo affective disorder. So why was i told i had bipolar disorder. I think that my family was embarrassed by the long line of schizophrenic members in my family. I have found out about suicides in the family and others who went around the town brandishing rifles and were held permanently in facilities.  I did not know that there was a genetic factor to my illness. Anyway just thought i would share that. I am the one with the illness and i don't care what other people think.

2 REPLIES 2
greenpea
Senior Contributor

Re: Stigma

@Calmblueocean  Hey Calmblueocean I was originally diagnosed with psychosis then then bipolarI and now schizoaffective disorder. For me it was a wait and see game.I think (hazarding a guess) your mum probably thought bipolar was the lesser of the two evils and thought naively she was doing you a favour. My mum doesnt like to discuss my mi at all. It is vorbotten lol .... and yet it still exists. It isnt going any where. By not discussing it wont make my schizo affective disorder any the less and yet she wont go figure. The thruth is sometimes I need to talk about it. Which is why I come online here to discuss, lend support and give and take. It is a safe haven for me. greenpeaxx

Re: Stigma

Thanks for your understanding #greenpea. It is a great shame when family are ashamed of having mental illness in the family. I feel like it would be more acceptable to them if i had leprosy .  Don't mention in mixed company that you have a mental illness.   Don't they know the dinosaurs have died out and their closed minded views with them.  Sorry  i get a bit cross and defensive about it.

 

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