[Wren]

I've been drugfree my entire life, 33 currently. Never had a smoke or a sip of alcohol. I do experience panic disorder as well, and without natural coping methods for anxiety would be a total mess. I deal with it by practicing cognitive behavioural therapy and breathing, mostly.

I do believe that when used at proper dosages those medications can absolutely improve life quality, the same way enjoying alcohol and some recreational drugs responsibly can.

I know what you're saying but I wouldn't personally credit the mental health stigmas on teens alone - where do you think those behaviors were learned? Adults have been long abusing the system / labeling themselves with mental health disorders to belong or seek attention.

I also believe some labels are more damaging to a person than which they seek to describe. I've seen friends suffering needlessly, collecting disorders, when they could just be living their fucking lives. They need a label to define every single weakness or setback, to justify or excuse behaviors. Handle. Your. Shit.

[tara2]

Wow, sad and creepy. I feel bad that they had to live like that.

[Peace_seek]

Originally Posted by stranglewank ↗

I suffer from depression, and bi polar disorder, but I say 'suffer' very lightly. I suffer from it in the way that I have it, and nothing else. I'm medicated for it, and while I know a lot of you, and the a lot of the public are against pharma, I can say that without the medication I take (Manerix, Trazodone, Lamotrotine, and Ativan — for my panic disorder), life would be pretty hard to assimilate to.

I'm fully aware of the negative effects that some of these medications I take have on me, and I find it painfully ironic that I'm extremely straight edge (never been drunk ((currently am 25)) and am strongly against recreational drugs), I've found myself to be well, not addicted, but physically dependant on Trazodone.

How funny is it for me, a person that's against drugs, to feel the panic of running out of trazodone due to the horrendous withdrawal symptoms I'll get.

Anyway, despite the downsides or prescription treatments, it's the lesser of evils — I'd rather be affected by medications than struggle with depressions and bipolar disorder without them.

It's unfortunate that over a hundred years since these pictures have been taken, mental illness has now gained the stigma of just wanting sympathy attention. I blame teenagers for that, and it's enraging to know that people now are just brushed off when they say that they have 'depression'.

Oh yeah,
The reason why I'm so against drugs is because I'm almost a carbon copy of my older brother, but with significantly less severe conditions. Him smoking weed fucked with his brain and wound up causing him to have schizophreniac episodes. Drugs tore our family apart, so I definitely do have an unrealistic bias towards weed. :P

I don't even know where I'm going with this, but I guess I feel comfortable saying all this since I feel the DR community would be able to understand all this better than any phony therapist would. Ahaha



P.S.
If you want to know how unlucky I am, here's a quick anecdote:
I have been clinically diagnosed with nonverbal learning disability, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder....

My mom was born with a genius level IQ, with her scoring a 186 at the age of 16. She finished her master's degree in computer science by the age of 18, and had photographic memory good enough to reread you back a page of a novel.

Thanks DNA for only passing down her bad eyesight and life affecting allergies.

God help you in this journey.... You will win

[bertbella]

Great post thanks!

[Bleed]

Looks like they threw in the Downs syndrome, Cerebral palsy, severely autistic and other intellectually impaired also.

[Padraig Flaherty]

Poor people, suffering isn't just physical! And so many of them suffered abuse, and still do for that matter!

[StalkingYou]

How did I miss this post? I will never complain about VA healthcare ever again. Like ever. This makes the VA look like a 5 star hospital.

These poor people. They weren’t even treated, they were tortured.

[Heavy]

Haunting faces,tragic souls hopelessly lost