Mental Health Thread

[Morgrim]

Or how the media uses it as the default "we need a villain! Let's give them schizophrenia!" in plots.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Doing research is hard, and if no-one speaks out on behalf of a group, then who'll care if we use them as dirt? :/

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

I am off medication for almost a month now and seem to be doing ok. I have been on medication for over 10 years and nothing has ever worked and I have only ever had very negative side effects so I will see how I do without it for a while and try and focus on building a social life and fighting my anxiety by trying to get out of the house more often. Hoping I can find a friend that will go with me to gigs and festivals too but finding anyone into industrial/EBM music is pretty difficult as most people don't even know what it is sadly but I think that would do me good too as it forces me into places full of crowds and lots of people.

[Wolfshade]

I am off medication for almost a month now and seem to be doing ok. I have been on medication for over 10 years and nothing has ever worked and I have only ever had very negative side effects so I will see how I do without it for a while and try and focus on building a social life and fighting my anxiety by trying to get out of the house more often. Hoping I can find a friend that will go with me to gigs and festivals too but finding anyone into industrial/EBM music is pretty difficult as most people don't even know what it is sadly but I think that would do me good too as it forces me into places full of crowds and lots of people.

You might have enjoyed my new year's eve music. It got stuck on vnv

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Feel free to kidnap me and bring to that place next time then.

[Erik Setzer]

I think there's something seriously wrong with me.

Last night, got called from my brother to go to the hospital with him, my sister was in bad condition. Doctors explained it all and, short version, the prospects for survival were practically none. They tried, though, and I stood or sat by as Code Blue was called on her and they resuscitated her a number of times before calling it. (Looking at the clock right now, it was almost exactly twelve hours ago.)

My brother was a bit of a mess. He was on phone with other family members who sounded like they weren't doing well. They posted heartfelt comments online mourning her.

I just felt like, to put it in simplest terms, "People come, people go. Sometimes people die. It sucks, but life goes on." Just not really much of anything. Analyzed the situation, accepted it, filed it away.

That isn't remotely normal. I told my best friend the news and she's sent me numerous texts offering a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to, all that. But I'm not emotional like I should be. It's not the loss of my sister that's bothering me right now, it's the lack of feeling normal feelings about it that's causing me the most trouble. Family pet dies? Well, it's "just" a pet, can hold it together for that. Grandparents? Died when I was super young, barely remember anything about even one of them. Dad? He'd been saying he was going to die for at least ten years, so you can imagine you'd be prepared when it happens, and I wasn't at the hospital when it happened. In this case, I was there, she's only 11 years older than me, I haven't been out of touch with her or anything. So why am I not affected like I should be? Why am I sitting here, feeling like it's a regular day? Why isn't there a part of me feeling like, "This sucks! The world is unfair!" or anything like that?

How broken does a person have to be when they barely feel anything when a sibling passes right in front of them?

[Mr Mystery]

Dude, I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

Please don't beat yourself up over your reaction. There is no standard reaction, nor stand reaction time.

If you need to talk about it, please seek a suitably qualified professional. Don't suffer or worry on your own.

[Psychosplodge]

Was it a long illness? I've seen people react like that when they knew it was coming have watched someone suffer for years, and they let it out at the funeral, rather than at the death, because the death was a release from suffering.

[Haighus]

That isn't remotely normal.

The thing is, it really is a normal response. Society tells us it isn't, and has for awhile, but actually many people do respond this way to losing someone close to them. It is how I've responded to losing my aunt last Autumn. Not everyone goes into the 'grief cycle' and having a logical, functional response as you are having now is not pathological, or unusual. I suspect that most people responding in that manner hide it though, because society does consider it abnormal, even though it isn't.

How broken does a person have to be when they barely feel anything when a sibling passes right in front of them?

Not broken at all.

[grimmas]

My condolences Erik.

There is no normal in this situation mate. I know the media and others will try to tell you how to feel but what you feel is what you feel. Being able to accept the situation for what you see it to be is in no way any indication of being broken or anything else.

My best wishes to you and yours.