Some Things Regarding Mental Illness

I was discussing with a friend two of the scariest things about having a mental illness:

1. Loss of control. That feeling that everything is spinning or you are stuck and you can't get out. A total inability to stop and let things cool down. That paralyzing fear. It's like having a car with the breaks cut. You suddenly realize that you car just won't stop. Of course, maybe it'll coast to a stop with no harm no foul. Or maybe you'll go careening through a red light into a bus full of schoolchildren.

2. Loss of perspective. Suddenly, it's hard to tell what normal is. If there even is one. Who are you? And where are you? And what is really happening? Are you overreacting? Maybe people are just telling you that so you'll calm down. And when your without the presence of a grounding individual, the line of reality and illness blurs real damn fast. The gas that is mental illness, expands rapidly to fill the vacuum of solitude. And that's when things escalate.

Although number 1 is something that really can't be helped much, I think two definitely can. If people felt more comfortable in sharing their personal illness, if they felt they would be believed and respected, there would be a greater wealth of knowledge, empathy and compassion among us. Imagine if most of us knew how to deal with panic attacks, anxiety, depression on a regular basis. And we lived in a world that was understanding of the challenges we faced. That people knew more healthy ways to take the edge. Where people could vent freely about their challenges without fear of judgement.

Now that would be nice.