Comments | bipolarsurvival: Work conversation

dreamaway820 in bipolarsurvival

Work conversation

May 21, 2007 17:19

Today one of my co-workers was talking about her brother-in-law. She mentioned he's on Zoloft. Another co-worker started talking about how he can't understand how people can let depression "get to them". The first co-worker agreed. They have no idea how people can let depression get that bad. Then they move on to psychosis, and how one of her ( Read more... )

employment, living with bipolar

Comments 6

aint2nuts May 21 2007, 21:56:29 UTC

People who have never been there, just don't understand. My Mom thinks that I should just be able to 'think lovely thoughts' and be better. Doesn't happen that way, but she just doesn't understand because she has never been there.

miraclebean May 21 2007, 23:47:46 UTC

/hug

as a mom, the only way i can parent effectively is to try to understand. to believe my children when they say, "mom, there's something wrong."

Sometimes it takes something as awful as having to pull your 7-year-old off an overpass to wake you up completely. But, man...

just hugs. i can't seem to say anything more that really expresses what i'm really feeling. sorry.

kittenhasclaws May 21 2007, 23:16:35 UTC

Unfortunately there still exists a stigma attached to having a mental illness. I hope with things progressing the way they are and as knowledge and understanding grows that one day this won't be so much of a problem ( ... )

suicide1monkey May 22 2007, 08:52:21 UTC

I back up what everyone has said. People without the Illnes will NEVER understand. Most of them won't ever try, but those that do will fail.

Ask someone who doesn't know you're ill if one should break up a relationship with someone if they got cancer? No one will tell you that's ok. Ask if someone starts acting erratic or "all crazy", and people will offer unsolicited advice to end the friendship or romantic entanglement as the case may be. We face the worst possible type of discrimition, because when it comes down to it, no one really thinks it's wrong to treat us unfairly.

zeeolive May 23 2007, 01:43:41 UTC

And it's not exactly like we're inclined to stick up for ourselves... ("You don't think I'm worthy? Yeah, you're probably right").

zeeolive May 23 2007, 02:18:25 UTC

My work had a "How to Deal with Mentally Ill Clients" seminar-- I was the only one in the office who didn't go because no one knows that I'm bipolar and I knew that at some point I'd scream "what is wrong with you people??"

Anyway, I heard one of my co-workers talking when she got back, saying "if someone has bipolar, they're just impossible to work with," etc.

I'm afraid it might take a lot to get through to people, but maybe if you could put up with the initial hassle, they'd become more understanding over time? Who knows.