sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name

[erika]

There have been many circling memes on DW, but perhaps none quite like this.

This is a circling meme for the mentally ill.

For the purposes of this circling meme, "mentally ill" means you have a diagnosed mental illness, which includes but is not limited to: bipolar disorder, any personality disorder, depression, any anxiety disorder including panic disorder, disassociative identity disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, or various combinations of the above.

(If you see a therapist, a psychiatrist, or another medical professional for mental health symptoms, even if you don't know your diagnosis, you're also welcome. If your mental illness is in remission/in good management, you are still welcome.)

Basically, if one of the topics on your journal is your own mental illness, I want you! Comment away, with whatever information you feel is appropriate, but here's a template:

Your identity: not necessarily A/S/L (though you can feel free to put that in) but relevant information that might tell people why they should read you or would want to get to know you. Feel free to link to a sticky post.
Your diagnosis: only if you're comfortable sharing this information on a public entry. Be as specific as you like, but generalities are fine.
How many entries you typically write a week: Within a given range is fine.
Other topics you discuss on your journal: college, your children, your pets, fandom(s), boy/girl trouble, etc.
Interests / hobbies you have: knitting, making icons, programming, etc. (This may overlap with the "topics" question, that's okay!)

Feel free to skip these next few, but I find the answers interesting:
Finish this sentence: I think mentally ill people are . . .
Finish this sentence: The use of the word 'crazy' by a non-mentally ill person. . .
Anything else you'd like to share!

<em>My identity or relevant information for new readers:</em> <em>My diagnos[is/es]:</em> <em>I typically write around this many entries a week:</em> <em>Other topics I discuss on my journal: </em> <em>Interests / hobbies you have:</em> <em>I think mentally ill people are . . .</em> <em>The use of the word crazy by a non-mentally ill person . . . </em> <em>Anything else to share?:</em>

(Please note that if you want
to discuss this entry with me
for any reason
PM is the best place to do that,
not on this entry.)

Comments

[recessional]

My identity or relevant information for new readers: I'm M. People who already have too many M's in their lives call me Recessional. On AO3 I'm lalaietha. I'm a cis biromantic demisexual woman with a cat, a family who can make a full sixpack of diagnoses, and an utter addiction to writing. I'm a pagan mystic (ish: that's the best way I have to say it); this doesn't tend to come up in my journal a lot, but it is a context, which means I tend to ask both monotheists and atheists to be respectful in my space.

My diagnos[is/es]: Major Depressive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Aspergers, Gifted. (Yes, I interact with the latter as a diagnosis.)

I typically write around this many entries a week: Usually one to three a day unless I'm quite busy with life, at which point I'll miss a day or three.

Other topics I discuss on my journal: Writing. My job (I'm a voice teacher). My sisters being awesome. That people are being stupid again. Writing. Worldbuilding. Writing. A new writing-challenge I found. Writing.

Interests / hobbies you have: Writing. *solemn* *laughs* I'm a mezzo-soprano and I teach beginners' voice and piano. My university training was as an historian, specifically a mediaevalist (yes, I will lecture you if you use the term "Dark Ages" or "feudalism" in my hearing).

I think mentally ill people are . . . more common than they tend to think.

The use of the word crazy by a non-mentally ill person . . . is something I interact with on a case-to-case basis. (I do use it in self-reference, as do many friends.)

Anything else to share?:

My amazement at how HOT P!nk can be.

[panda]

damn that first picture is hot.

[recessional]

Seriously.

[branchandroot]

*grins* All the writing sounds like fun. Should I not mention Marc Bloch, though? *goes to subscribe*

[silverhare]

Oh, Pink is so hot. I like your writing style, so I'm going to add you to my circle. (No obligation to add back! :)

[royalfireworks]

I'm already reading you, but anyway-- I was really interested by this:

Gifted. (Yes, I interact with the latter as a diagnosis.)

Have you written about that in more depth somewhere? I'd love to see your thoughts.

[recessional]

Not really publicly, no; I haven't needed to maunder on it for personal reasons for at least a couple years now, and my decision to think of it as a comorbidity predates my opening up a public journal here on DW.

More or less, it came from the fact that while I was coming to terms with a) no, not the neurotypical one in the family, REALLY NOT, and b) yes, actually DEPRESSED, not just "having difficulties", I sort of became aware of what could be thought of as a third planetary body, exerting gravitational pull over the rest.

What I realized, due in part to a friend's work with this stuff, that if you take this construction of Giftedness, and then treat the Gifted as a comorbidity along with the undiagnosed (at the time) ASD and the depression that showed up with late adolescence, my childhood made a hell of a lot more sense.

Giftedness as a comorbidity changes the face of things like ASD and adolescent MDD (and OCD and ADHD and any other $D you care to think of). It provides different stresses and different advantages and different disadvantages. For instance, as a Gifted adolescent Aspie, I had spent enough time with enough books and staring at people enough that by the time I was 17, I could fake "normal" well enough that there are still people who insist I can't be on the spectrum. I acquired this skill the way a non-Aspie Gifted person might decide to teach themselves Koine Greek by comparing English translations with Greek texts.

As a Gifted depressive, 90% of talk therapy strategies don't work. Because I already know how my brain is working (I watch it all the time, after all!) I already know the connections and the thought patterns, and so on; I can dissect myself thoroughly with an hour's work. For two years of suicidality, I DID, on a regular basis. And with it all out of the box I would look at it and say, "okay, I know EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG . . . now what do I do?"

And the people I'd gone to see would look at me blankly. (Right up until the CBT books, which went "fuck your ruminating self-knowledge: when you are doing this thing, do this thing.")

I tend to refer to it as a diagnoses also because I honestly feel that Giftedness is often more of a difference than an advantage. We don't necessarily excel, we tend to come with some fascinating emotional problems, and often need very different care than a non-Gifted kid in order to survive the same experiences. It's only an advantage if you happen to be lucky and latch onto something that's approved of and be lucky enough to have the necessary stability not to crash and burn.

(In short, I think "Gifted" is a really shitty term for the thing IN GENERAL and gives all the wrong connotations, but I'm not in charge of naming it, I just have to interact with the labels.)

. . .it's late, and I've had wine, so I'm not 100% that was coherent, but right now it's my best shot. :)

[erika]

I find this fascinating and very relevant to my experiences as a Gifted child.

[panda]

As a "gifted" child myself, this is fascinating! The idea of Gifted as a comorbid thing resonates with me.

[whatawaytoburn]

Writers! i am just going through this meme and collecting writers, I think. It's a perfectly acceptable approach to this meme. >>

I have been meaning to follow in general though. We have a few friends in common, I'm just not very good at randomly following folks.

[elialshadowpine]

PINK is fucking awesome. I love her.

I like the sixpack analogy. I think my family could walk off with the whole liquor store. -_-

Friends?

[landlocked]

You sound interesting - adding to circle. Feel free to add/not add as you wish. :)