A lot of us are in the closet about our illness.

[Neoma]

That's a harsh reality that no one really dares to talk about. There are reasons for it, and it can but doesn't always relate to stereotypes. The social stigma attached that damages so many peoples lives.

Reason #1 You know that as well as I do. You say something about it, and you instantly get that...look. Sometimes it varies. Surprise, worry, or the 'get away from me' gesture. They treat you differently. Not 100% of the time, but they do. Then you just get sick to your stomach about it, and just stop saying it to people altogether. It's too hurtful to get that look.

Reason #2 is because you're denying your own illness. You don't want to be one of them. You think you're perfectly fine. "Look, I'm smiling! Leave me alone!" You really don't want to take pills because you're afraid of what they'll do to your brain. Plus, only crazy people take pills. "I haven't been crazy thus far, and I'm not starting now!" You think to yourself. You deny your own illness, and you become even sicker.

Reason #3 is the cruelest one of all. Most of you know exactly what I'm talking about, and that's the sad part of this. Someone finds out this information, and uses it against you in the worst possible way that they can. Blackmail, threats to commit you, using the information to emotionally abuse you, using the information to shun you from your community, family members using the information to control what happens to you medically (or worse), using that information to smear your name, or maybe even to mess with your pills. There are too many reasons why people do not stand up for themselves to say that they have this or that mental illness. Also, it doesn't help that too many people with mental illness are all ready kicked down to the ground and stomped on emotionally. A lot of us are defenseless, pure and simple.

I do not hide, and anyone that posts in this group doesn't either. Are we crazy? Are we insane? (pun intended) Of course you need to hide it! There's too much risk, too much going against you! Well... I want to help foster a greater understanding and acceptance of what mental illness is. Yep, that about covers it. That reason pushes aside everything else. I wish more could say the same.