Posted by Janelle on March 25, 2003, at 13:36:55
In reply to Newbie Poster, posted by dogboy on March 25, 2003, at 12:45:03
Hello there and a WARM welcome - this is a great place!
I can relate to a lot of what you've said - I too ponder issues to do with the mental health 'closet' as you put it.
I have a long history of *mental illness*/emotional problems, low self confidence, low self esteem, mood swings and feeling *alienated* from the general (so-called *normal*) population.
To address your question, I have found that you have to take it one case (person) at a time, you have to gauge who you're with in terms of how open you can be, how comfortable you feel opening up to the individual. At least that's what I do.
It is a DELICATE balance to strike between constantly pretending you are 100% fine, and at the other extreme telling strangers about your suicide attempts? Actually, I would NOT recommend the latter, unless the person opens up about it first (meaning *they* tell you that they've attempted suicide in the past).
Unfortunately, although things have improved, there is still a stigma attached to mental illness in the *normal* (actually, imo there's no such thing as *normal*) world, so it boils down to TRUST, who you can trust and then how much you reveal to those you feel you can trust. Well, this is how I see it!
poster:Janelle
thread:212561
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030322/msgs/212592.html