Can a mental illness improve your well-being in the long run?

[noname223]

For me this is certainly not true. But there are some people who claim their mental illness had a good reason. And in the long run they really appreciate that experience. It showed them that they were on the wrong track and this is why they made necessary changes in their life (were more happy after that with their life). There are probably not that many people in a suicide forum who think in this way though.

I rather experience my mental illness as absolutely crippling. It narrows down my opportunities in life in a very huge way. I am always very very fragile and I have to be very cautious so that I don't turn manic or psychotic. Maybe this question can be answered when we look at the roots why someone becomes mentally ill. There is the stress-vulnerability model. It says (I think)) everyone has a certain limit for coping with stress. If this stress - level is crossed the person becomes mentally ill.
I read literature about that but this is some years ago I cannot give a guaranty. Another explanation is the individual is deeply unhappy about their life situation. But they don't see any escape from it. They have not learned a healthy way to cope with it. They feel unable to change their situation by their own. Then a mental illlness develops which forces a change of their life. In most cases I know this is rather a very destructive process. In some cases it is even irreversible (like in mine). But there are also cases where the people describe it as a cleaning/cathartic effect.

I wished my illness woud have had such a positive effect. Otherwise I see mental illnesses rather as a fault in the system. As a very counterproductive condition. I read that it was cathartic when someone described his psychosis. The person said after this experience he was more aware what was good for him. He cared more about his mental health and stopped to neglect his well-being. Yeah I can partly relate to that. I am nicer to myself since I have this illness. But with my condition I must always be extremely careful not to do something wrong. It is so absurd this illness determines my whole life. And then it is funny/cynical. Exactly the people who had such a cathartic experience with their illness tell me your illness "should not determine your whole life". Yeah what a fucking joke. If I had your luck I could also make these "helpful" remarks to a person like me.

Do you know someone who was happy that he got mentally ill? I rather think this is only a minority. But in self-help books many sell this as a story. Do you think a mental illness can have good reason and influence your life in a positive way? Many people who are bipolar describe themselves as a very creative person. Some say this is in some sense a gift. This is not the way I am thinking about it. Lol. But it is likely my pessimistic view on it is more unhealthy. It is probably smarter to have a more positive view on it.

 

[hungry_ghost]

I wish.

I feel like I've been waiting my whole to "come out of the other side" of it all, to no end.

There is no purifying fire, transfiguration, or catharsis.

There is only the sensation of having been incrementally drained of morale, so that I lack the will even to do the things that would help me.

And thus begets the cycle of sloth and self-sabotage.

 

[GrumpyFrog]

Do you know someone who was happy that he got mentally ill? I rather think this is only a minority. But in self-help books many sell this as a story.

Self-help books will sell anything as a story these days, I see.
I find it highly dubious that anyone ever could genuinely benefit from being ill either physically or mentally. I have a feeling that authors of those self-help books are Belle Gibsons of mental illness, i.e. full of crap.
I am so sorry that life is so hard for you. I don't think that you're somehow missing some hidden "silver lining", it's just not there. People who say it is there probably just don't know what the hell they are talking about. Of course, if you really really try you can convince yourself there are positives in nearly everything, but if you take a good honest look at the situation - of course mental illness isn't some life-improving catharsis.

Many people who are bipolar describe themselves as a very creative person. Some say this is in some sense a gift.

Some people with mental illness indeed can be in a temporary state where they seem to enjoy it and don't want it to go away, because it gives them some momentary improvement (a "high" of the manic state, the feeling of safety within ones paranoid delusions etc.) and they are unable to see the potential of long-term negative conssequences. But that doesn't mean that mental illness is good for them.
Mentally ill people are just as capable as others in most ways. They can be talented and fascinating and can lead fulfilling lives if proper help is available. But of course mental illness isn't a soul-purifying superpower...