Can healthy people spot mentally ill/suicidal people?

[noname223]

I think many don't have a clue about mentally ill people. Though I have also met people who recognized I was psychotic during an episode. These people had psychotic people in their family. Though I once had a psychotic outbreak in front of another person. I asked them why they are bullying me and told them my life story. The next day I have met that dude and he asked me why I had this nervous breakdown. He had no clue I was mentally ill and I was stunned about that. People seemingly rather care about their own life and problems afterall. I am partly glad about that. I hope the people forget these embarassing events. I get really a lot of suicidal thoughts when I think about the events of my psychosis. My life humiliates me so hard.

Damn I cringe so hard today. I remember my second psychosis I did so embarassing things. I was extremely suicidal because I was so ashamed afterwards. Though I was stunned. I thought everyone knew I was mentally ill. But I asked another woman who knew the truth and she told me noone would think I was mentally ill. I was absolutely puzzled about that. For me it was so damn obvious. But if you are psychotic you think of yourself as the center of the universe.

I try to hide the fact I am mentally ill to most people. Though some people know the truth. There was an incident with a lecturer recently. I think he already forgot it. I was paranoid and starred at him. He was very irritated during that lecture. Today we talked about the fact that I might leave the course due to my mental state. He was neither really empathetic nor cold. I did not fully open up. I did not want to show him how really desperate and in pain I am. I don't want that he pities me for that fact. If I stay he will help me a little bit. I expected more but we did not come to the final conclusion.

To the question of the title it probably depends which condition you have. (Severely) Depressive, manic or only hypomanic, psychotic etc. Moreover it depends on the symptoms and on the individual case.

I think many people don't have a lot of education on mental illness. Which is good if you want to hide it just as me. The people can be pretty ignorant. Which obviously also has disadvantages. There is a lack of understanding and empathy for people like us.

 

[Mental_Pain]

I don't think many can. I think it depends on whether they knew you before any such episode.

Other than wanting to CTB I appear outwardly fine to most. I was sectioned a year ago and it opened my eyes to the plight of other patients.

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

I also think that it depends a lot on the situation itself and the person itself.

When people don't give a shit, they don't notice anything. They only care about themselves.

I'm unfortunately an open book and I transpose everything I feel. So even people who don't know me and look at me they can see that there is something wrong with me.

Life sucks.

 

[FuneralCry]

I think that I agree with what has already been said, I think it depends on the situation and the condition in which the person has. I think that a lot of people keep their suffering to themselves and hide how they feel, and of course that can be often be pretty much impossible for others to spot, but I guess if someone is showing signs of being suicidal, then others may notice that something is wrong.

 

[HangmanCH]

It depends...... Most people do not care about others at all. I was conducting self-injury and scars can be easily found on my left arm, and I never do anything to conceal these scars. Nobody has noticed that, including my roommate.
What makes things worse is that I tend to hide my emotions and try to function just like others (I have been suffering from clinical depression), then nobody will find I am not okay. But if somebody really cares, he/she will capture the tiniest signs: once I accidentally posted my pills on the social media and some of my friends immediately visited me, because they found that I was taking antidepressants.

 

[Circles]

I think so cause I get looks whenever I'm out in public and I feel like I make an obvious look that I'm depressed or atleast have low self esteem.

 

[motel rooms]

No. The poor muthafuckas have no idea we're everywhere & out to get them before we get rid of ourselves.

 

[OctoberDusk]

I think it depends. I believe I seem laid-back and light-hearted to many, based on what I've been told and overheard. But one interaction stuck out. I was in grad school, taking evening classes, and was walking a classmate to her car. She was also a brilliant poet. She said, "I need to ask something. How are you, really? I mean, are you okay?" I was puzzled and said I was fine. She said. "It's just that, sometimes I look at you when you don't realize it, and you just look so very sad." I made up some excuse, and we never spoke of it again. I wish I'd thanked her for being the only person I know who ever looked close enough to see the sadness.

 

[WinterIsComing]

They could know something is off or they go with the: "we didn't he was going to end it! He looked so happy!"

 

[jackdaw]

Let me put it this way, the wouldn't say to me " he looked so happy "

 

[Hirokami]

I have "normie" mental illnesses such as depression and a crippling anxiety disorder, so probably not as supposedly "everyone feels sad or anxious sometimes". People have a certain idea of mental illnesses; it's usually exaggerated and downright offensive versions of psychosis. If you don't wanna get out of bed, you're just "lazy". If you feel like shit, you're "having a bad day". Healthy people tend to downplay the fuck out of mental health.

 

[whitefeather]

Yes, its primal instinct . Most of nature preys upon the vulnerable . And humans are conditioned to FEAR VULNERABILITY AS MUCH AS THEY FEAR DEATH. The way this all plays out with humans is complex and varied .

 

[hopeless302]

if they looked closely enough, I'm sure they'd notice. But we're so self-absorbed in our daily lives, we never notice the struggles of others. I'm sure there are people in my mundane life who were struggling that I, personally, have overlooked as well. It makes me feel guilty, but what can I do? Lol, I can hardly care for myself, let alone give someone else in a similar situation the attention and care that they need. It sucks.

 

[3xfipC74AYz]

no way. Most people are self-engrossed so they don't notice much

 

[Nigh]

My social worker didn't . When I was senctioned I was taken to the local park by one of the care workers there. A dog ran up to me and started barking and circling me, another dog ended up joining. This went on for ages before the owner decided to get off his backside and shoo them away. Anyway, I was reading a book about a guy who had mental health problems. He said that, just before he was sectioned, a dog came up to him, stopped and started barking uncontrollably. Apperently dogs pick up on severe mental illness, who knew?