I just don’t understand people. Even the ones closest to you. How many of you with a mental illness have experienced a time when someone doesn’t believe you are really sick? I know I have.
People often don’t believe you are sick because they can’t actually “see” the illness as you can others. You can see the effects of cancer, diabetes, broken bones, but it is hard to see Bipolar unless you are having an episode. Even then when you are manic they just think you are feeling really good. When you are depressed they think you are a little low. They don’t see the anguish that is going on in your mind.
A couple of months ago I had a close family member tell me that having bipolar is nothing compared to arthritis. That, basically, I never hurt from it. it hurt me badly for this person to say that. I wish this person could go through some time in my shoes. I think that they would see that you do hurt, and it is not a hurt that can be completely healed. You know you will have more episodes, but not when they will occur. Sure, some medications help, but they don’t cure the illness. How would they feel if they had a life sentence to mental and emotional pain?
I really almost went into a verbal rage at this person for saying basically that Bipolar is a joke, you don’t hurt from it like you do other physical diseases. I kept telling myself to keep my cool, keep my cool. I tried to tell them how Bipolar does hurt. How you want to try to kill yourself because the episodes are so bad. How you hurt so bad mentally that you just want a way out. Any way out. When you are hearing voices that are telling you to “end it all” that you need to hurt yourself, I call that being in pain!
Some days you can’t function at all because your mind is racing, or you are having visual hallucinations, Some days you just feel like screaming to try to stop the emotional pain. But yet If you can’t see it , it isn’t really a real disease!
Even worse, when some one tells you they understand how you are feeling! Only if you have the mental illness can you truly understand! It really bothers me for people to say that. They don’t have a clue as to what it is like. Once again, if only they could walk in our, the mentally ill, steps could they have a clue as to what it is like!
Is there an answer to this problem of people thinking that Bipolar, or any other mental illness, doesn’t cause you pain? Or, that they say they understand? Education, education, and more education!
Please pray that people will gain some understanding!
Having Faith 
Reblogged this on Going Sideways and commented:
Some good points here.
Thank you!
The way I see it, education is important, but actually living out and doing what you learn is the hard part. That’s where many people without mental illness are lacking and where personal testimony may come in from the rest of us.
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