Young Writers Society

I really enjoyed reading this. Overall, you did amazing getting your point across. I can connect with most of this. I have a mental illness and before I got helped I was dealing with it for years on my own. I tried to get my family to help but they said and still say I was looking for attention.

However, while reading this I did see a couple of grammatical errors and spelling errors. In the first paragraph when you said "She and I" that should be changed to We. Also, a couple of Introductory Words that need commas after them. Make sure to go back and check your spelling to I did see a few mistakes.

Because having mental health issues generally has more of a net negative effect than positive. It’s the same reason that stigma exists around obese people, and ugly people.

People are afraid of associating themselves, even by merely bringing up a general topic in conversation, with such qualities, so it’s much easier to lampoon those with the issue(s), than consider the frightening possibility that one is succumbing to the same problem themselves, however quietly at first.

The warped media representations obviously don’t help either. The few times we see characters in shows or films that are obviously mentally unwell, they’re usually hyperbolized, or written to behave for shock value, rather than as someone in real life, with the issue they claim to be representing, actually would.

It’s much easier to try to “ignore” or brush away people who seem to have more overtly negative qualities than oneself. Workplace bosses may be too busy to be able to deal with the demands they assume they’d need to take on, should they hire someone who has bipolar disorder, for instance, or is a pedophile.

Pedophilia, though much more disturbing than probably the majority of known mental illnesses, is a good example: many people within society seem to realize that it’s not a problem that’s going to go away simply by castigating them, but by dealing with it directly (ex. though group therapy, treatments oriented towards helping pedophiles control their urges and lead as normal and healthy lives as possible, without harming anyone else).

But because pedophilia, and other especially troubling issues (ex. sociopathy) tend to bring about knee-jerk reactions from the more emotionally-charged, people are afraid to even broach the subject. So nothing gets done, and the problem rears its ugly head yet again.

To add to modern misconceptions regarding mental illness, I believe we owe some credit to the many tumblr accounts romanticizing cutting, depression, anorexia, etc. for, what appears to be, a desire for attention. That’s not to say that the individuals doing this don’t need help, but that it gives a very narrow and slanted view of people with mental disorders to those who haven’t been diagnosed before.

People get frustrated with the half-baked attempts of some people who act as though they’re going to commit suicide, but do it in such a way so that there’s time for them to be caught and saved, because they DO actually want to be saved. They get irritated towards these calls for help so much that they turn a blind eye to the silent-sufferers, who feel like so much of a burden on others that they choose to off themselves quickly and privately, before anyone has a chance to intervene and make them feel attention-seeking.

Finally, people foster a stigma around mental illness because merely allowing the thought that they’re possible victims themselves carries with it a sense of lost control, of never being able to be the perfect person one wanted to be, of always being less than, or “messed up” at the core, and therefore less awesome than “normal” people.

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People interact, and when they do they influence each other and affect each other in both good and bad and neutral ways. Now imagine what effect a person with narcissistic personality disorder has on those around them, or a sociopath, or a person with bipolar disorder. Not good. No it doesn’t define everything but other humans don’t like negative effects. These effects reinforce stereotypes and lead to prejudice that already exist.

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For many people, seeing is believing. When someone tells you that they have a broken leg, you know that they’re telling the truth because you can see that their leg is broken. When someone tells you that they’re depressed, or anxious, or suicidal, some people just have a hard time believing that because they can’t see it.

I used to be one of those people. My sister was diagnosed with narcolepsy a few years ago, and I did my best to be understanding, but there were plenty of times when I couldn’t get why she wouldn’t just get the hell out of bed. Then my depression hit me like a bus, and suddenly I could see where she was coming from. I couldn’t see what was wrong with me; there were no cuts, broken bones, or bruises, but I knew that there was something. I could feel it weighing me down.

A lot of the problem stems from people trying to explain mental illness with logic. When they can’t they assume it must be fake. Many times I asked myself, what did I even have to be sad about? It was a short list, and nothing on it was worth killing myself over, but at the time I still wanted death. It didn’t make sense, but it was still real. It’s hard for someone who hasn’t experienced that to picture it; it defies all logic.

Luckily with advances in science people really are starting to see how mental illness changes the brain, and that gives them the “logical answer” that they were looking for. Still, it’s sad that it’s taken scientific proof to convince people to finally be compassionate.

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The stigma exists because mental illness is still something that is so easily misunderstood. It is such a broad label, covering everyone from the real life people who deal with depression while still functioning normally every single day, to the made-up characters on serial killer dramas who are described with the same label, and everyone else in between.

Another reason is because issues with the brain are usually trickier to diagnose and treat than problems with other organs such as the heart, lungs, etc. Because of this people are fond of accusing those who suffer with such problems of faking it. Or, for the more extreme, there are those who assume that anyone with a mental illness must be completely unstable and ready to go off at any moment for any reason.

Hey Queeny, sorry it took me so long.

I find it really sad that, in some situations people have to deal with unsupportive peers. Sometime I wonder what they'd say, if all of a sudden they had a mental illness. Of course, I'd never wish it upon them, not anyone.

School is particularly bad for 'unsupportive people' so I hear. A friend of mine has to deal with teenage girls which are surprisingly more trouble than they're worth. It saddens me that they can't see beyond the illness, to the person. Most of the people I know with mental illness, are the nicest souls on the planet. I know not all of them are, but why can't people get past it already?!

Anyway, I'm glad you're getting help, making friends, and most of all, the ending was perfect. I'm not saying just for the essay, but for you! Let's have a recap on that:

I continue to succeed and move forward in life and my education. Nothing is going to stop me from reaching my goals in life.

Honestly I really don't know a lot about mental illness and soon that won't be true, but as i read your essay I can only imagine what you have suffer or suffering and have yet to endure


"I go to school, attend college, have gotten a job in a semester, have written a book. I continue to succeed and move forward in life and my education. Nothing is going to stop me from reaching my goals in life"

God support you under your heavily affliction

Hello there queenofscience! Niteowl here to review this piece.

So like the previous reviewer, I also have bipolar disorder. It's under control right now, but I have had severe manic/psychotic episodes, so I know how bad it can get. I applaud your courage in writing this and turning it in for a class.

First question: What is the topic of this essay? This sounds more personal than anything I ever wrote in college. If it's something like "Describe a personal crisis and overcoming it", then this is great. If it's supposed to be more academic/impersonal, then you'll probably have to refocus it.

Second question: Do you have a specific diagnosis? If so, it might be helpful to mention that, as well as some outside source information about the symptoms, treatment, etc. It would make the piece feel more academic.

Okay, now some small nitpicks.

Now, this was not your typical broken bone, or viral sickness. For me it was invisible since my three years in public high school and showing up full force last year.

Before my senior year, I came to The Texas School for the Blind and Visually impaired.

Sometimes I wanted to sleep excessively, sometimes my body ached.

I was crushed after that comment, I cried silently.

The voices said that I was a horrible person, however, I heard a good voice.

I have begun hallucinating again, this time about Dog 42 and cat 1 million and more.

I do not want to take medicine anyways due to my good voice.

I don't want attention, I just want people to understand and help.

I really liked this essay. I am able to empathize with you COMPLETELY. Just three months ago, I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, having experienced fluctuating moods of both mania and depression. I have experienced some very rare hallucinations, but I am not psychotic, as you implicate yourself to be.

Mental illness is incredibly stigmatized, and it bothers me. People think people with Bipolar are crazy and are not safe. That is why I have only told my very close friends only. It bothers me to read stories that bash mental illness. They don't know anything. People are ignorant. They do not have to experience the hell that we go through from time to time.

The topic of eugenics bothers me. In ethics class, we discussed the moral dillema relating to such, but many people said it is a good idea. I was the only person who didn't, and people were very surprised. I am proud of my being Bipolar. It is what makes me a true writer. Hemingway had it. Fitzgerald had it. Salinger had it! I have it! When I said that I didn't believe in it and that mental illness can be "fun" (implying manic episodes), one of my friends said "Come on, Jacob. You should put yourself in the shoes of someone who has, say, Bipolar. They're lives are living hell." I just wanted to scream out then and there "I am f*cking bipolar!" but I didn't. It just goes to show how little people understand. This was a very sensitive topic for me at the time. It was only a week after I was diagnosed. How appropriate!

Labels are a lie. I am not bipolar; I HAVE bipolar. I am not mentally ill. I HAVE a genetic vulnerability. But I am one thing...I am mad.

I embrace my madness. My madness makes me who I am! It is so great to see someone who is just the same, seemingly. This was a great essay!

SPotswood