are you mentally ill or not?

[ksp]

do YOU consider yourself mentally ill, or not?

---

doctor's opinion not relevant: mental health is subjective (just like life), and current labels don't reflect reality

I think only 1% are truly mentally ill, and the rest of us are mostly healthy - most of the times, and sometimes are unhappy / sad / depressed / down / agitated / angry / not understood / melancholic, etc, but able to function

---

I'm trying to dispute the notion that suicidal people are automatically mentally ill

for example: I want to end my life because of purely philosophical reasons (philosophical suicide):

I'm not mentally ill
I don't have clinical depression
I didn't lose anyone close to me
I didn't lose the 'love' of my life
I didn't lose my job
I don't feel lonely (I like being alone)
I have some money
I am physically healthy
I am not particularly old (but not young either)
I don't hate everyone around me

I simply don't want to live
I'm just tired of existence
I don't accept human condition
life doesn't have a purpose
happiness is an impossibility - life is only measured in unhappiness: 100 to 1
perceived happiness is directly related to unhappines,

ie. current happiness is only based on previous unhappy experiences​

 

[makethepainstop]

I think I'm sane, even logical when it comes time to ctb.

 

[LittleJem]

yes mentally ill, and with capacity to know that I don't want to carry on suffering

 

[Suicidebydeath]

Hmm, tough question. I would consider most of society mentally unhealthy, but that's just because society is shit to people so I guess not. Criteria of whether or not they can live daily lives is good, I guess. What about people that are happy but that make a mess of their lives?

So hmm:
Family think I'm mentally ill, but they're horribly abusive, lying narcissists that mainly only care about themselves.
Doctors/psych think I'm not besides some social anxiety and say my family is toxic.
I think I have PTSD and life is a struggle, so by this criteria I suppose I am, but I consider myself in some 3rd state, not mentally ill like others because I'm fairly rational and self-ware but still broken because of invisible barriers & tribulations to progress.

I'm not a good model for a suicidal person. Have been feeling suicidal in almost forever but survival instincts are too strong.
I struggle with being alive, I manage mainly because I don't have many daily tasks and I'm financially adept.
In terms of "Do I think it's "crazy" for me to be suicidal?" - I'd have to say no, but I assume everyone would think that, I do believe it though. My life's awful, I have no future. There's not much reason to be alive and I never feel like I can find happiness, which is basically a good relationship to me.

I'm going to vote "no" even though I struggle and broken. Maybe that's my pride, lol. Going with my instinctual vote. I've survived many dangerous social situations and physical confrontations, somehow, so I have at least that.

 

[Blahblahbloop]

That's a difficult question to answer. I have bipolar 1 and that means cyclically not well. It interferes with with my life heavily but there are periods where I am trying so hard to survive and maintain that it drains me. I want to die, and have wanted to die, expected to die for decades. Practically, I would be less of a curse on my loved ones if I died. Emotionally I know it would hurt them in intense and awful ways. I wish I could just disappear.

 

[ksp]

…I'm not a good model for a suicidal person…

no one, but NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON, is a good model for anyone else :) everyone is different, with different reasons, and infinite combinations of variables and situations

I struggle with being alive

I think everyone alive is struggling, but most (normal) people are ignoring their own mortality, they only keep going because of survival instinct combined with old doctrines / religion, etc, but no one is actually 'happy'
(I'm determine if most of us can go grocery shopping, pay bills, etc)

"most of society mentally unhealthy" - exactly!!!

and thank you for using your brain!

---

That's a difficult question to answer.

thanks; would you like to continue your life without your current condition, or would you still want to end your life?

 

[ZRA]

Haha, that's a good question. I think so, though I'm not certain. Really a lot of my behavior makes no sense at all.

 

[willitpass]

excluding my clinical mental health diagnosis, i would consider myself truly mentally ill. i work full time and am good at my job, albeit food service so not very hard, but that is all i do. i don't feed myself very well, i only have a real meal a couple of times a week, other than that i have a couple of snacks a day. i have zero sleep schedule and am running on caffeine every day, sometimes which i drink late at night which keeps me up which causes me to need even more to get through the next day. i rarely keep up with my personal hygiene the way that i should, and i have no social life outside of work even though i am desperately lonely.

 

[lifeisadream]

Personally, I can perform basic tasks & somehow manage to get through the working day by pretending there's nothing wrong with me. Certainly don't have a "normal" brain as seen by the life loving people in society otherwise I wouldn't want to ctb. Tricky though, as the question for me then becomes do I believe the diagnoses given to me by psychiatrists. If I do then I guess I am mentally ill. Although I prefer to think of it as having a brain which isn't malfunctioning, rather it allows me to see that life isn't all fluffy & rosy. Maybe we're all the normal ones for wanting to escape this painful existence called life.

 

[ksp]

Haha once , that's a good question. I think so, though I'm not certain. Really a lot of my behavior makes no sense at all

lol, but you're realisc at least :)

---

i would consider myself truly mentally ill

I doubt that: you are almost like me

i eat once a day, or once every 2 days, the rest in snacks (doesn't bother me much)
zero sleep schedule, usually going to sleep between 7 and 9 am, this doesn't bother me much either
my personal hygiene is ok
no social life and i like it like that (i never feel lonely)

i'd say you are inclined towards philosophical suicide

---

I can perform basic tasks & somehow manage to get through the working day by pretending there's nothing wrong with me. Certainly don't have a "normal" brain as seen by the life loving people in society…

most 'normal' people only appear to have a 'loving' life - daily 'masks' put on every morning :)

Although I prefer to think of it as having a brain which isn't malfunctioning, rather it allows me to see that life isn't all fluffy & rosy

believe in yourself - i strongly suspect you're 'normal'
are you sure you're not thinking about philosophical suicide?

 

[Hirokami]

I am de facto mentally ill. Can't eat normally on most days, I think about death constantly even on good days, I've withdrawn myself from socializing as I'm tired of being hurt, and I almost never brush my teeth (though I do shower just about once every other day). The only thing I can really do is work and even then my work ethic could be better. I am barely a functioning person.

 

[GrumpyFrog]

Interesting topic.
Based on the provided description, I voted "no", but it's complicated. I've been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, or whatever the correct official name of the "big sad" is. I don't think it is an unfair diagnosis. But the same doctors that said that I am depressed also said that my depression is "treatment-resistant". In other words, whatever fixes they have for the "chemical imbalance" don't fix things for me for some mysterious reason. And while I am not going to deny that in some cases this diagnosis really means an idiomatic, atypical illness, I think that in my case the "medical mystery" is fairly straightforward. I am very sad because my life is shit, not because my brain went "unbalanced" for no reason. If there is some biochemical problem in my brain, it is probably due to the fact it's beaten to a pulp by the stress hormones.
However, I am fully functional and capable of taking care of myself. I have a job that allows me to rent an apartment and cover all my living expenses. I take care of my chores and other obligations. I handle my own health emergencies, and I am prepared for many other types of emergencies that I had to learn to prepare for. I do not require anyone's assistance for anything. Even though I absolutely hate it, I can show up to family or work meetings and "look alive". IRL no one knows I want to die, and no one but doctors knows that I'm depressed, and I am pretty sure even doctors do not expect me to be severely suicidal. I am in the process of being promoted at my job, for pete's sake! I wouldn't classify this as "unable to function in society" at all.

Do I want to die for philosophical existential reasons? Kind of. It has to do with me losing faith in humanity to a huge extent. Do I want to die because of depression? Debatable. While I admit that depression might skew my thinking to some extent, I can name multiple very tangible reasons why I want to be dead that are not just "I am sad all the time and I don't know why" and "I don't enjoy things", and doctor's solutions for my depression all seem to fail to make me any less suicidal. So is it really depression's fault if I CTB?..

 

[ksp]

I am de facto mentally ill…

thanks. i start to see an emerging pattern: most of us put ourselves down, compared to normals…
can't eat normally on most days my neither - don't bother me
withdrawn myself from socializing, intentionally
personal hygiene is not part of equation
personal preferences are different, and don't stop us from functioning in society
'barely a functioning person' - most people are barely functioning everyday (sorry to let you down:)

THIS what i'm referring to: 'I think about death constantly even on good days'
i'd say you are barely functioning (like most people) but looking to commit philosophical suicide, am i wrong?

---

I am very sad because my life is shit

i think you are absolutely correct!!! you hit the nail in the head

Do I want to die for philosophical existential reasons? Kind of.

i think so too, thank you

but, to be fair, there are true neurological chemical imbalances in a few people…

---

to be clear: i'm not trying to make anyone reconsider, or invalidate any reasons, just trying to reveal the real reasons for ending ones life

future generations (starting to today's youth) will most likely be able to choose dying with dignity as in pegasus, based on solid reasons, and true self analysis: is my life truly worth living or not

 

[DarknessAtNoon]

Yes definitely mentally ill. I have severe ADHD as well as what would probably be best described as avoidant personality disorder.

 

[squidhead]

The problem is we as a society have decided that anyone that wants to commit suicide is automatically sick and has some sort of mental illness or doesnt think straight.
Which is something completely idiotic and does so much harm, also a major obstacle in tackling anything mental health related seriously, especially if suicide is mentioned.

You can be suicidal for a host of perfectly valid and logical reasons without automatically being mentally ill or having your judgement impaired. Just look at the fricking world we`ve built and you should have a million reasons why this life is not worth living as it is. Reasons that are real, logical and impact your life in a very tangible way.

Or some people just dont enjoy life and all it has to offer. You dont lock someone in a psych ward and stuff them with pills if they dislike eating x food or doing x activity. Our relationship with death and dying is seriously skewed and we should stop seeing life as this sacrosanct gift because its not.

 

[LONE WOLF.]

I have been diagnosed as Mentally ill with PTSD & ASPD But can do basic tasks because I have to and am able to function in society by putting on a convincing front! This l have to do as l have no-one l can rely on so have to do things for myself!

 

[whywere]

I have had mental health issues from day one. I have always had "melt downs" when something OR someone triggered my emotions. I have also had so, so many people tell me to my face that I think so very much different than anyone that they have ever met.

Ya, 2 attempts and the usual "crappy" lock ups in the hospital. Oh and of course the exciting aspect of having a "professional" talk down to me, look down AT me and the like.

The best was having to go to court and argue with the judge about having me committed for an extended time,

Having found SS and after being on here for a few years, for me at least, everyone here is the most caring, kind, loving and sane souls that I have ever encountered

Do we have issues? May be, BUT compared to the greedy, self-centered and heartless people out in the world, we are awesome bunch of souls, hands down.

Walter

 

[Csmith8827]

No I just don't like people spying on me...

 

[Forever Sleep]

I've thought about this question a lot also- 'Am I crazy?'... I don't feel crazy, my thoughts don't feel crazy- but is that the crazy talking? My neighbour once went through a mental breakdown. (He wanted to sell all his possessions and go and live in a nearby park- to give you an example of his thinking at the time.) He said to him though- at that point- he felt like he'd seen the light. While I do actually agree with you that thoughts of suicide seem a logical response to living in a world like this, I can't help but wonder if that IS distorted thinking- if/ when the MAJORITY of people don't think this way.

According to your poll, I'm not mentally ill. I 'function' in society. I have a job and while I'm not great at looking after myself and my home- that's through laziness- not because I 'can't'. Personally I believe there are wide varying degrees of mental 'illness'. I do believe there are 'high functioning' mental 'illnesses' and I'm starting to wonder whether more and more people fall into this category. How many people in your workplace do you know who are struggling?

I guess my question is- 'How do you define a normal, sane person?' I guess I would argue that our 'default' primal brain ISN'T suicidal. We come from nature. Our primal urges are to survive and reproduce. The desire to live or die surely comes from our self awareness or consciousness. In which case- is there a 'srandard' or 'default' to our consciousness and is that default naturally positive? I suspect it is influenced by genetics- depression is known to be hereditary but it is vastly influenced by our experiences of the world. So- are our experiences of the world the same for everyone- surely not. I guess I do wonder if it is in fact our 'programming' that interprets the world which influences what we can and can't cope with. There are some people who have survived horrible lives but still have the resilience to want to carry on. There are others that seem to crumble at the slightest upset.

I do believe there are a myriad of mental illnesses- which do genuinely screw up our lives. However, I think a lot of the time- looking at maybe the just the practical side of things- we are asking what a person can INITIALLY cope with in their life before they get to the point where they become depressed- (at that point, I kind of wonder whether our perspective on life becomes negatively skewed.) That's going to be different for everyone. I guess I wonder then- whether it isn't necessarily mental 'illness' but our own brains individual ability to cope with trauma. Maybe resilience is just another ability we inherit to varying degrees. I suppose I do wonder whether some people are born with more positive, resilient, upbeat thinking brains. Which of course, would be further reinforced being brought up in an environment that was very upbeat and positive.

So then- is it mental 'illness' that comes along and buggers up our thinking or is it a brain that is more predisposed to thinking a certain way to begin with? In which case- that brain hasn't become 'ill'- it was perhaps formed with less of an ability to function in a world like this. I suppose after that, it is then more susceptible to getting trapped in negative thinking and negative behaviours which continually reinforce one another and end up exhibiting the signs of what we describe as illness.

 

[actual_fox]

I am abnormally tired/fatigued. Give info reaction If you feel the same. Or tell me how you feel in response, that is always better.

 

[Fadeawaaaay]

I don't think I am mentally ill but I do think I am mentally weak and susceptible to depression with a very low threshold of resilience… Easily overwhelmed with anxiety…

 

[SamTam33]

I'm going with "mentally abnormal." I have a different default setting or something.

I'm just not meant to be here amongst all the regular people who want regular things.

I'm not enamored with my existence. I don't think I'm important. I can easily acknowledge my uselessness. I don't need to believe in anything. I don't care about the meaning of life.

That's not the case for most people.

So no, not mentally ill in the traditional sense. Just drastically different and abnormal compared to the status quo.

Even the folks who think they're rebels. They're not. They still operate on the same wavelength as everyone else. Believing in their own self-importance.

But I know better. I know that there's no good reason for me to be here.

 

[ksp]

i find intelligence and honesty extremely under appreciated in this community, taken for granted, and ignored

i knew i liked all people here (comments and thoughts i read while lurking)
but you all deserve much more than just being validated and understood

i knew you are open minded, highly intelligent, well adjusted, and unafraid to tackle some of the toughest problems, but i didn't expect it to go this at this level

i love intelligence - your remarks opened my mind to a lot of new subjects, unfortunately i can't go into most of them (restricted by time and space) but they're fascinating

i'll try to respond to all of you, concisely, but i might make mistakes, so bear with me…

 

[FuneralCry]

No, I believe that in my case, wanting suicide is the rational response to seeing life for what it really is. I despise life, I view it as being an useless and pointless concept, there is nothing to be gained by existing instead there is only ways in which to suffer. I just view life as being tedious and I've never been able to understand why anyone would want to stay here.

Suicide is what makes sense for me, and anyway, it's preferable to leave this world at a time of my own choosing rather than it being at a time out of my control. Seeing non existence as being preferable to living is not a 'mental illness', I am not the problem, but rather life is. If there was no life then there would be no suffering anyway.

There is nothing appealing about ageing and eventually getting very old and deteriorating. That is all that life is, just waiting around to die so it makes sense to prevent pointless decades of endless misery and problems. I believe that it's irrational to want to exist in a world filled with endless cruelty that will continue to exist as long as life exists and suffering is simply inevitable in life after all with the chance of things getting more unbearable for us at any moment. There are an unlimited amount of ways in which life can torture living beings.

I find it disturbing how despite this people see suicide as being 'wrong' and continue to believe in delusions, denying the true horrifying nature of life. The truth is that for many people life could never be worth it and this fact should be respected.

 

[disabledlife]

I'm Asperger, my life is hell. It's a death penalty. There are a lot of topics about them in SS. I think Asperger and autistic is a mental ill, because society force me to think like this and hate me.

 

[Anonymus]

It's clear that I'm mentally ill, I can't work, or study, or read well, or watch movies in a row, I get stuck easily,...
I cannot live the life that is marked by the norms of a civilized society, nor do I contribute to its development,...

//

Es clar que sóc un malalt mental, no puc treballar, ni estudiar, ni llegir bé, ni veure películes seguides, em bloquejo facilment,...
No puc fer la vida que marquen les normes d'una societat civilitzada, ni contribueixo al seu desenvolupament,...

 

[disabledlife]

If Asperger's autism isn't a mental illness, then I'm not mentally ill. I'm going to talk about autism, asperger's syndrome, and my life (I'm sorry about that) because there's a debate whether it's a mental illness or not. A medical debate even.

I honestly don't know who to believe anymore when it comes to autism. Society has always hated us because we are misunderstood and we do not understand others or their social codes. We lack, according to others, empathy, tact, we are considered as aggressors, bad guys... because of misunderstandings, words that should not be said, behaviors considered inappropriate by others. .. even though these are not our wishes.

Then, complaining about our life, our autism, rejection by others, sometimes our desire for CTB, makes us aggressors, manipulators, ... when we just want to empty our bag, have comfort, have to be listened to, from time to time, without asking others for anything. We get rejected, so we want to complain even more, it's a vicious circle.

I am autonomous in the tasks of my life, so far, I still manage to go out and talk with people. But I'm very physically ill and handicapped, in addition to autism, without intellectual retardation, with a high IQ (which I didn't choose, it's not a gift, honestly).

I live alone because I have never accepted this world, nor this unjust society, of not being able to die according to your will, without others being able to forbid you from dying by your will.

It is especially this ban on CTB, euthanasia, etc., with the insults of being called a coward (in addition to being called a useless person in society, too much on Earth when you live).

It is above all that, both to be insulted for living and being too many on Earth, then to be insulted because you want to die, because they have said that you are too many on Earth, which makes my main hatred of living, this impression of prison where you have to wait for nature to kill you by itself, in atrocious agonies, alone, rejected by everyone! You live, you get insulted, despised, rejected, because you don't fit into society's mold and you get insulted, despised, rejected, because because of insults, you want to die. In short, you are insulted, despised, hated, rejected, whatever you say, think, etc., because you were born badly, you did not have a good family, a good standard of living, you are ugly, disabled...and it kills the health, especially the mental health, of anyone who goes through this all the time.

Having someone in my life (love for example) would above all, for me, be one more obstacle that would prevent me from CTB when I wanted to, provided I surpassed SI.

 

[freedompass]

Not sure what makes you think mentally ill people aren't able to perform basic tasks or even 'function in society' (whatever that means). The poll definitions are not valid.

 

[PressEnterToExit]

do YOU consider yourself mentally ill, or not?

---

doctor's opinion not relevant: mental health is subjective (just like life), and current labels don't reflect reality

I think only 1% are truly mentally ill, and the rest of us are mostly healthy - most of the times, and sometimes are unhappy / sad / depressed / down / agitated / angry / not understood / melancholic, etc, but able to function

---

I'm trying to dispute the notion that suicidal people are automatically mentally ill

for example: I want to end my life because of purely philosophical reasons (philosophical suicide):

I'm not mentally ill
I don't have clinical depression
I didn't lose anyone close to me
I didn't lose the 'love' of my life
I didn't lose my job
I don't feel lonely (I like being alone)
I have some money
I am physically healthy
I am not particularly old (but not young either)
I don't hate everyone around me

I simply don't want to live
I'm just tired of existence
I don't accept human condition
life doesn't have a purpose
happiness is an impossibility - life is only measured in unhappiness: 100 to 1
perceived happiness is directly related to unhappines,

ie. current happiness is only based on previous unhappy experiences​

Good post

 

[Anonymus]

Not sure what makes you think mentally ill people aren't able to perform basic tasks or even 'function in society' (whatever that means). The poll definitions are not valid.

Well, that's how we are valued at the moment. We have a more or less high degree of disability taking into account whether we are able to perform basic tasks or those that are considered normal in society.

//

Doncs així es que com s'ens valora actualment. Tenim un grau mes o menys alt de discapacitat tenint en compte si som capaços de realitzar tasques bàsiques o que es consideren normals en la societat.